pacify
Americanverb (used with object)
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pacifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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pacified,
past participle, past
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pacifying
present participle
verb
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to calm the anger or agitation of; mollify
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to restore to peace or order, esp by the threat or use of force
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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repacifyverb (used with object)
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nonpacifiableadjective
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pacifiableadjective
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unpacifiableadjective
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unpacifiedadjective
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pacifyinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pacifysimple
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pacifiessimple
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have pacifiedperfect
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has pacifiedperfect
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am pacifyingprogressive
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are pacifyingprogressive
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is pacifyingprogressive
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have been pacifyingperfect progressive
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has been pacifyingperfect progressive
Past
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pacifiedsimple
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had pacifiedperfect
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was pacifyingprogressive
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were pacifyingprogressive
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had been pacifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pacify
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Old French pacef(i)ier, pacifier, from Latin pācificāre “to make peace”; see pacific, -fy
Explanation
If you are bringing peace or calm to a state of unrest, you are pacifying the situation. Just think of the transformation a squalling baby undergoes when a pacifier is placed within his mouth, and you will remember the power of the verb to pacify. If you work to establish peace in a certain location between factions at war, then you are working to pacify a country or region. The U.N. has specially trained workers, called peace keepers, who go into to trouble spots to try to pacify rebellions factions and restore order. Or, one can pacify a disgruntled crowd: "The store manager attempted to pacify the restless crowd of shoppers by promising the popular out-of-stock item would soon be back on the shelves."
Vocabulary lists containing pacify
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Power Suffix: -fy
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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.
See Examples For:
Army had been spending $150 million a month to pacify the Triangle of Death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
And it will also pacify manager David Moyes, whose mood looked ominous post-match at Bournemouth, as he will now keep a young talent regarded as a key part of the club's future.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
There’s a mercenary quality to the more ostentatious looks; they please crowds or pacify them for long enough to compel closer listening to the intricacies of her music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025
It starts with Lamar rapping quickly but calmly over a smooth-jazz backdrop, taunting, “I make music that electrify ’em, you make music that pacify ’em.”
From New York Times ● May 3, 2024
Then Miss Peregrine, apparently impatient to pacify Claire, took one edge of the book’s cover in her beak and opened it to a seemingly random chapter.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
“People are saying, ‘Let’s give our peculiar new king a chance,’ while the prospect of an election pacifies a lot of the frustration and rage that people would otherwise feel.”
From New York Times ● May 7, 2023
In recent months, Farinelli has taken on business partners and a few employees, and has begun working with a third-party logistics company for shipping, though he still pacifies cranky shoppers personally.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 4, 2022
Nov. 8 is his “Groundhog Day,” on endless repeat, in a way that pleases and pacifies him.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2017
“Is it really something that pacifies? Or is it something that drives apart?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2016
Of tillage, timber, herds, and hives, thus far My trivial lay—while Caesar thunders war To deep Euphrates, conquers, pacifies, Twice wins the world and now attempts the skies.
From The Adventures of Harry Revel by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
There is no sentient actor lurking in the weights to be reasoned with, feared or pacified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
This is a man who has pacified a team who seemed to be at war with itself once.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2024
When winds blow hard across the lake and storms brew over its waters, it is said that Michi-Cihualli is angry and must be pacified.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
The companies pacified the recruits with niceties onshore and offshore.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2023
He pacified his conscience by promising himself a compensatingly harder self-discipline, purifications the more complete and thorough.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
At this point, even pacifying the thousands of fans who protested against the club's ownership before the Old Trafford defeat by 10-man City looks beyond them.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
If the Fed is otherwise confident in its bank-liquidity regulations, there’s no obvious reason pacifying the overnight lending market should be a policy concern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
“Priests and pastors and members of all the churches have participated, helped in pacifying the country. I think it is very good,” López Obrador said the day after the existence of the negotiations was revealed.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
Shetty’s voice, as you might expect from a meditation expert, is extremely pacifying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2023
She whirled back toward Clancy, who had put two pacifying hands on her shoulders.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
