appease
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe.
to appease an angry king.
- Antonyms:
- enrage
-
to satisfy, allay, or relieve; assuage.
The fruit appeased his hunger.
-
to yield or concede to the belligerent demands of (a nation, group, person, etc.) in a conciliatory effort, sometimes at the expense of justice or other principles.
- Antonyms:
- defy
verb
-
to calm, pacify, or soothe, esp by acceding to the demands of
-
to satisfy or quell (an appetite or thirst, etc)
Related Words
Appease, conciliate, propitiate imply trying to preserve or obtain peace. To appease is to make anxious overtures and often undue concessions to satisfy the demands of someone with a greed for power, territory, etc.: Chamberlain tried to appease Hitler at Munich. To conciliate is to win an enemy or opponent over by displaying a willingness to be just and fair: When mutual grievances are recognized, conciliation is possible. To propitiate is to admit a fault, and, by trying to make amends, to allay hostile feeling: to propitiate an offended neighbor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of appease
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English apesen, from Anglo-French apeser, Old French apais(i)er; equivalent to a- 5 + peace
Explanation
Appease means to make or preserve peace with a nation, group, or person by giving in to their demands, or to relieve a problem, as in "the cold drink appeased his thirst." Appease often implies abandoning your moral principles to satisfy the demands of someone who is greedy for power: think of British Prime Minister Chamberlain's attempt to appease the Nazis at Munich. The verb appease comes from the Old French apaisier, "to pacify, make peace, or be reconciled," from the phrase "a paisier," which combines a-, or "to," and pais, "peace," from the Latin pax.
Vocabulary lists containing appease
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appease the less romantic lover with these cool skull drivers designed with golf clubs instead of bones.
From Golf Digest • Feb. 8, 2019
Appease their interests with the chef’s table at the Breslin in the Ace Hotel, which will do nicely if the people in question are more interested in food than you appear to be.
From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2011
Rojas was instructed to: � Appease the cardinal by giving up the Third Force.
From Time Magazine Archive
If you can not, take pity on my pain, Appease your heart, refuse your hand no more!
From Turandot, Princess of China A Chinoiserie in Three Acts by Bithell, Jethro
Let us the land which Heav'n appoints, explore; Appease the winds, and seek the Gnossian shore.
From The Aeneid English by Virgil
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
