pacify
Americanverb (used with object)
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pacifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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pacified,
past participle, past
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pacifying
present participle
verb
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to calm the anger or agitation of; mollify
-
to restore to peace or order, esp by the threat or use of force
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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repacifyverb (used with object)
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nonpacifiableadjective
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pacifiableadjective
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unpacifiableadjective
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unpacifiedadjective
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pacifyinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pacifysimple
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pacifiessimple
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have pacifiedperfect
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has pacifiedperfect
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am pacifyingprogressive
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are pacifyingprogressive
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is pacifyingprogressive
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have been pacifyingperfect progressive
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has been pacifyingperfect progressive
Past
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pacifiedsimple
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had pacifiedperfect
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was pacifyingprogressive
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were pacifyingprogressive
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had been pacifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pacify
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Old French pacef(i)ier, pacifier, from Latin pācificāre “to make peace”; see pacific, -fy
Explanation
If you are bringing peace or calm to a state of unrest, you are pacifying the situation. Just think of the transformation a squalling baby undergoes when a pacifier is placed within his mouth, and you will remember the power of the verb to pacify. If you work to establish peace in a certain location between factions at war, then you are working to pacify a country or region. The U.N. has specially trained workers, called peace keepers, who go into to trouble spots to try to pacify rebellions factions and restore order. Or, one can pacify a disgruntled crowd: "The store manager attempted to pacify the restless crowd of shoppers by promising the popular out-of-stock item would soon be back on the shelves."
Vocabulary lists containing pacify
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Power Suffix: -fy
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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.
See Examples For:
Army had been spending $150 million a month to pacify the Triangle of Death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
There’s a mercenary quality to the more ostentatious looks; they please crowds or pacify them for long enough to compel closer listening to the intricacies of her music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025
He also accuses the Canadian star of selling out, saying he only makes music to "pacify" fans.
From BBC ● May 1, 2024
The industry has previously tried to pacify the public and regulators with promises that never materialized, he said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
“Shall I tell her, sir? She’s been demanding to see someone in authority for a long time. The conductor’s been trying to pacify her.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
“People are saying, ‘Let’s give our peculiar new king a chance,’ while the prospect of an election pacifies a lot of the frustration and rage that people would otherwise feel.”
From New York Times ● May 7, 2023
“The best that can be expected under the circumstances,” with a wan smile, should suffice, as it pacifies the audience without exaggerating the truth.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2021
Nov. 8 is his “Groundhog Day,” on endless repeat, in a way that pleases and pacifies him.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2017
“Is it really something that pacifies? Or is it something that drives apart?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2016
It is he who saves humanity from complete annihilation, and who pacifies the angered Bel.
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Morris Jastrow
There is no sentient actor lurking in the weights to be reasoned with, feared or pacified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
But the details will be all the more important, as activists may not be pacified by temporary measures.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I have faith that very soon all this region is going to be pacified and brotherhood and concord will return,” he said during a recent visit to La Concordia to inaugurate a new bridge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2024
Was it a barely pacified, muddy hut-filled foggy rock on the edge of the known world or a fully paid-up member of the imperial fan club?
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2021
He pacified his conscience by promising himself a compensatingly harder self-discipline, purifications the more complete and thorough.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Or you might enter directly from the street into an office, without the pacifying liminal space of a waiting room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
If the Fed is otherwise confident in its bank-liquidity regulations, there’s no obvious reason pacifying the overnight lending market should be a policy concern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
There was no pacifying him until I invited him on to the playing area so that he could kick a ball about.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2023
Gradually, Chen’s measures succeeded in pacifying the unrest.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
Such was the power of an ymbryne over peculiar children: the very presence of one—even one we’d only just met—had an immediate pacifying effect on us.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
