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pacifier

[pas-uh-fahy-er]
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noun
  1. a person or thing that pacifies.
  2. a rubber or plastic device, often shaped into a nipple, for a baby to suck or bite on.
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Origin of pacifier

First recorded in 1525–35; pacify + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

refereemediatornegotiatordiplomatarbitratorpacifistconciliatorpeacekeepermedicationopiatenarcoticpeacemakeralleviatorstabilizerpacifierappeasermake-peacedopedrughypnotic

Examples from the Web for pacifier

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • This project to be his housekeeper was one dear to Meg's heart, the pacifier of her wrath.

    Meg's Friend

    Alice Abigail Corkran

  • "Well, Dr. Seaman," she demanded as I chewed on my pacifier.

  • But at such times Basine revealed his interesting talents as a compromiser, fence straddler, pacifier.

    Gargoyles

    Ben Hecht

  • Hanneh Breineh tied the child in the chair, stuck a pacifier in his mouth, and went in to her neighbor.

  • After a child has used a pacifier or comforter for some time it invariably becomes a mouth breather.

British Dictionary definitions for pacifier

pacifier

noun
  1. a person or thing that pacifies
  2. US and Canadian a baby's dummy or teething ring
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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

Word Origin and History for pacifier

n.

"one who pacifies or appeases," 1530s, agent noun from pacify. The meaning "nipple-shaped device for babies" is first recorded 1904.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper