as in to appease
to lessen the anger or agitation of
attempted to placate the screaming child by offering him a cookie
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Recent Examples of placate
Surely, more could have been done to placate him.
—
Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, sought to placate his colleagues’ concerns over the use of ICE by the US diplomatic security detail, following increasingly aggressive tactics by the agency in the US.
—Antonia Mortensen, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026
Alfonsi called the move political and the conflict added to the narrative that Weiss is trying to placate the White House.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The world, after trying in vain to placate its predatory hegemon, now seems to have started the hard work of rebalancing.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for placate
Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, sought to placate his colleagues’ concerns over the use of ICE by the US diplomatic security detail, following increasingly aggressive tactics by the agency in the US.
—Antonia Mortensen, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026
Alfonsi called the move political and the conflict added to the narrative that Weiss is trying to placate the White House.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The world, after trying in vain to placate its predatory hegemon, now seems to have started the hard work of rebalancing.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for placate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for placate
appease
Verb
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Democrats are much more likely, at 78 percent, to believe the Supreme Court is trying to appease the president, though 34 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of independents said the same thing.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
6 Feb. 2026
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The Legislature is eagerly pursuing the approval of bills (SB 706 and HB 919) to take away local governments’ ability to name their own airports to appease their Lord and Master.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Placate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/placate. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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