irenic

American  

[ahy-ren-ik, ahy-ree-nik] / aɪˈrɛn ɪk, aɪˈri nɪk /

Also irenical or eirenic

adjective

1. tending to promote peace or reconciliation; peaceful or conciliatory.

---

irenic British  

/ aɪˈriːnɪk, -ˈrɛn- /

adjective

1. tending to conciliate or promote peace

---

Other Word Forms

• irenically adverb
• nonirenic adjective
• nonirenical adjective
• unirenic adjective

Etymology

Origin of irenic

First recorded in 1860–65; from Greek eirēnikós, equivalent to ( eirḗn(ē) ) “peace” + -ikos -ic

Example Sentences

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

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

Several irenic uses for the base have already been suggested.

From The New Yorker

Read liberal American critiques of post-9/11 America—including President Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech, with its apologies, cautions and irenic aspirations—and hear the echoes of French critiques.

From The Wall Street Journal

Artists like Claude went in for “ideal” views of an eternal, irenic Arcadia full of Classical architecture, while the unsurpassed Dutch masters of the genre scrutinized nature as it really is, with incomparable sensitivity.

From New York Times