pacification
Britishnoun
Other Word Forms
- pacificatory adjective
Explanation
Pacification is an attempt to create or maintain peace. That can mean appeasing a hostile country through diplomacy or even just by settling an argument. A pacifist is someone who is against fighting and wars. That can help you remember that pacification is a means — usually carried out by a government — to keep the peace or end a conflict. If two countries are having a war of words that could escalate, one country could use foreign aid (money) as a means of pacification. If a country is battling a revolution from within, stopping the insurgency can also be called pacification.
Vocabulary lists containing pacification
"Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell
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myPerspectives 10.3
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Excerpts from "Things Fall Apart"
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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.
Speaking in Madrid, Sanchez says the deployment could happen "once we can see how to advance this task of pacification."
From Barron's • Jan. 8, 2026
“We have to move forward little by little until we achieve the pacification of the entire country,” says Senator Salagado.
From BBC • May 22, 2024
The government said it met with human rights groups, the Catholic Church and United Nations staff to “coordinate cooperation in the pacification process.”
From Reuters • Nov. 14, 2021
In the summer of 1966, however, a lengthy secret study of the pacification program was done for the embassy and military headquarters in Saigon by some of the most experienced Americans in the country.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2021
“One moment, Sir Gawaine. I have to point out that the Church does not regard these people as prisoners. The mission of His Holiness which I represent is one of pacification, not of revenge.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
