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pacify

[pas-uh-fahy]
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verb (used with object), pac·i·fied, pac·i·fy·ing.
  1. to bring or restore to a state of peace or tranquillity; quiet; calm: to pacify an angry man.
  2. to appease: to pacify one's appetite.
  3. to reduce to a state of submission, especially by military force; subdue.

Origin of pacify

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin pācificāre to make peace. See pacific, -fy
Related formspac·i·fi·a·ble, adjectivepac·i·fy·ing·ly, adverbnon·pac·i·fi·a·ble, adjectivere·pac·i·fy, verb (used with object), re·pac·i·fied, re·pac·i·fy·ing.un·pac·i·fi·a·ble, adjectiveun·pac·i·fied, adjective

Synonyms

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2. soothe, mollify, assuage.

Antonyms

2. anger, enrage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for unpacified

Historical Examples

  • Mr. Rochester took breakfast with us in a gloomy old dressing-room, moody and taciturn, unpacified by sleep.

    Henry Brocken

    Walter J. de la Mare

  • As for special commission, I do not know if your Lordship have one, unless it be in the unruly and unpacified encomiendas.

British Dictionary definitions for unpacified

pacify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)
  1. to calm the anger or agitation of; mollify
  2. to restore to peace or order, esp by the threat or use of force
Derived Formspacifiable, adjective

Word Origin

C15: from Old French pacifier; see pacific
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unpacified

pacify

v.

late 15c., "appease, allay the anger of (someone)," from Middle French pacifier "make peace," from Latin pacificare "to make peace; pacify," from pacificus (see pacific). Of countries or regions, "to bring to a condition of calm," c.1500, from the start with suggestions of submission and terrorization. Related: Pacified; pacifying.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper