Synonyms

appease

American

[uh-peez] / əˈpiz /

verb (used with object)

to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe.

to appease an angry king.

Synonyms:

placate, calm

Antonyms:

enrage
to satisfy, allay, or relieve; assuage.

The fruit appeased his hunger.

Antonyms:

sharpen, arouse, increase
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

appease British

/ əˈpiːz /

verb

to calm, pacify, or soothe, esp by acceding to the demands of
to satisfy or quell (an appetite or thirst, etc)

"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

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

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.

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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.

Year after year we endured a mishmash roster with his hand-picked players, just to appease LeBron.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2026

However, shares continued to slide, a sign the acquisition didn’t appease investors.

From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026

Adam removed the roots and tree at the arborist’s nudging, and yet even that responsible act did not appease his neighbor.

From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026

But he knows he will need more than words to appease supporters who have turned on him this season.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

Every corner was cleaned, and corn-dough was rubbed along entranceways to appease the spirits of dirt and sickness.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023