pacify

[pas-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object)

pacified, pacifying 

1. to bring or restore to a state of peace or tranquility; quiet; calm.

   to pacify an irate customer.

2. to appease.

   to pacify one's appetite.

   Synonyms: assuage, mollify, soothe
   Antonyms: enrage, anger

3. to reduce to a state of submission, especially by military force; subdue.

pacify

/ ˈpæsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to calm the anger or agitation of; mollify

2. to restore to peace or order, esp by the threat or use of force

Other Word Forms

• pacifiable adjective
• pacifyingly adverb
• nonpacifiable adjective
• repacify verb (used with object)
• unpacifiable adjective
• unpacified adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pacify¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Old French pacef(i)ier, pacifier, from Latin pācificāre “to make peace”; pacific, -fy

Word History and Origins

Origin of pacify¹

C15: from Old French pacifier; see _pacific

Example Sentences

"They didn't like it and that's going to be our goal, to pacify the crowd."

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I don't think we should expect to pacify the crowd, that might not be possible.

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“Complicit in the narrative of pacified killings it’s a / Sore sight when you gotta choose / The lesser of two evils either one will prove / That we’re socially in apathy what’s left to lose?”

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The storied university may pay out a huge settlement — rumored to be about $500 million — to pacify an administration increasingly bent on domination of American institutions.

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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.

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Related Words

• allay 
• ameliorate 
• assuage 
• mitigate 
• mollify 
• placate 
• quell 
• repress 
• smooth over 
• soothe 
• tame