irenic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irenic
First recorded in 1860–65; from Greek eirēnikós, equivalent to ( eirḗn(ē) ) “peace” + -ikos -ic
Explanation
The adjective irenic describes something that is peaceful. Although you and your sister constantly fought as young children, your relationship might become more irenic as you grow older. The word irenic is from the Greek word eirēnē, which means peace. Eirene was the Greek goddess of peace. She was one of the Horae, or Hours, and she also represented the season of spring, so she is often depicted holding a full cornucopia. Today, the adjective irenic still maintains its peaceful meaning, and governments are continuously searching for irenic solutions to world problems.
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.
Respond with irenic understanding, and you’re treating her as a patient or a puppet, someone acted upon and controlled by larger forces.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2022
The light filtering through the front door toward which Melrose walks is redemptive, the opening bars of Blur’s “Tender,” which accompany him, suitably irenic.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 22, 2018
He was, if you’ll pardon the expression, positively irenic.
From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2011
As for tall, irenic Princess Gabriella in her villa bedroom filled with toy stuffed animals -like many a lovely princess before her. she would be expected to marry whomever her queen mother tells her to.
From Time Magazine Archive
Cranmer hoped to make his statement irenic; and in fact it contained some Roman and Calvinistic elements, but in the main it was Lutheran.
From The Age of the Reformation by Preserved Smith
Definitions 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.
