appease
Americanverb (used with object)
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appeases,
present (3rd person singular)
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appeased,
past participle, past
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appeasing
present participle
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to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe.
to appease an angry king.
- Antonyms:
- enrage
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to satisfy, allay, or relieve; assuage.
The fruit appeased his hunger.
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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
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to calm, pacify, or soothe, esp by acceding to the demands of
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to satisfy or quell (an appetite or thirst, etc)
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
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appeasablenessnoun
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appeasementnoun
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appeasernoun
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appeasableadjective
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nonappeasableadjective
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nonappeasingadjective
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unappeasableadjective
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unappeasedadjective
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unappeasingadjective
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appeasablyadverb
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appeasinglyadverb
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unappeasablyadverb
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unappeasinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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appeasesimple
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appeasessimple
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have appeasedperfect
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has appeasedperfect
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am appeasingprogressive
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are appeasingprogressive
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is appeasingprogressive
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have been appeasingperfect progressive
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has been appeasingperfect progressive
Past
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appeasedsimple
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had appeasedperfect
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was appeasingprogressive
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were appeasingprogressive
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had been appeasingperfect progressive
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.
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.
See Examples For:
Votive deposits in Scandinavian wetlands were ways for local elites to mark their status, appease the gods and demarcate territory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Whatever the assignment was supposed to accomplish, it did not appease the man it was designed to flatter.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
But Parton refused to distance herself from Fonda just to appease her more conservative fans.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
And I will say that this is the challenge for productions, when you’re trying to appease everyone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
To appease Sagarmatha, this year—as every year—the Sherpas had built more than a dozen beautiful, meticulously constructed stone chortens at Base Camp, one for each expedition.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
She appeases me by telling me I will be the first person to know when it's finished.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
HBO’s drama expands a beloved video game into a series that appeases longtime fans and appeals to new viewers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2023
An awkward locution, but it appeases the sensitivity police.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
“We just have to find a sweet spot right in the middle that appeases the majority.”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
I look between them, hoping that my solution appeases both of them.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
While the funding plan removed what Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick called the “monkey off the back” for Oracle, it hasn’t appeased skeptical investors.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026
Los Blancos were in charge but despite taking the lead, their fans were not appeased, and whistled the team in at the break.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
In January 2022, on the eve of the full-scale assault, he warned that Russia was not a Great Power and should not be appeased.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
“Appeasement may well be a viable strategy when the party being appeased is willing to take the win and stand down,” writes Steve Vladeck of Georgetown law school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
It did not matter so much that the Virginia-writ-large vision was mostly an illusion; it was a deeply felt illusion that the location of the new capital somewhat appeased.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Finding the perfect position appeasing those on either side of an issue is exhausting work and prone to error.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
He also pledged a break from the Petro policy of appeasing criminal gangs, vowing to build mega prisons to get their recruits off the streets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
However Wilson's lawyer Dauid Sibtain said that MacInnes lied by denying she had complained to Wilson "to ensure that her career as an actress and musician progressed by appeasing Ms Ghost".
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
McDonald’s and Oracle are among the growing list of clients choosing to part ways with the appeasing firms.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2025
But instead of appeasing them, it gave them more material to work on.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
