conciliatory

American

[kuhn-sil-ee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / kənˈsɪl i əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

Also conciliative

adjective

tending to conciliate.

a conciliatory manner; conciliatory comments.

conciliatory British

/ -trɪ, kənˈsɪljətərɪ, kənˈsɪljətɪv /

adjective

intended to placate or reconcile

"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

Other Word Forms

conciliatorily adverb
conciliatoriness noun
nonconciliatory adjective
unconciliative adjective
unconciliatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of conciliatory

First recorded in 1570–80; conciliate + -ory ¹

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.

Wall Street traders weren’t alone in advising against chasing the latest batch of conciliatory headlines.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

He backed off after a somewhat conciliatory phone call with Lurie, in which Trump said the mayor asked him “very nicely” to call off the deployment.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

And then on May 1, 2025, he lost, in a mostly conciliatory finding.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

But Iran's pledge, plus Trump's more conciliatory tone, pushed stocks higher and sent oil prices lower in Asian trade.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

I’m trying to be conciliatory, trying to be grown-up about this, but I suppose it’s a little late for that.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

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