pacify

[pas-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object)

pacified, pacifying 

1. to bring or restore to a state of peace or tranquility; quiet; calm.

   to pacify an irate customer.

2. to appease.

   to pacify one's appetite.

   Synonyms: assuage, mollify, soothe
   Antonyms: enrage, anger

3. to reduce to a state of submission, especially by military force; subdue.

pacify

/ ˈpæsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to calm the anger or agitation of; mollify

2. to restore to peace or order, esp by the threat or use of force

Other Word Forms

• pacifiable adjective
• pacifyingly adverb
• nonpacifiable adjective
• repacify verb (used with object)
• unpacifiable adjective
• unpacified adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pacify¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Old French pacef(i)ier, pacifier, from Latin pācificāre “to make peace”; pacific, -fy

Word History and Origins

Origin of pacify¹

C15: from Old French pacifier; see _pacific

Example Sentences

Specifically, he continued, “Those thematics are, I believe, the weaponization of fear. The use of fear as a tool to divide, to conquer, to consume, to pacify in order to gain power.”

Read more on Salon

Russian President Vladimir Putin has used similar methods to disorient and pacify the Russian public.

Read more on Salon

"They didn't like it and that's going to be our goal, to pacify the crowd."

Read more on BBC

I don't think we should expect to pacify the crowd, that might not be possible.

Read more on BBC

“Complicit in the narrative of pacified killings it’s a / Sore sight when you gotta choose / The lesser of two evils either one will prove / That we’re socially in apathy what’s left to lose?”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• allay 
• ameliorate 
• assuage 
• mitigate 
• mollify 
• placate 
• quell 
• repress 
• smooth over 
• soothe 
• tame