placate

¹ American  

[pley-keyt, plak-eyt] / ˈpleɪ keɪt, ˈplæk eɪt /

verb (used with object)

placated, placating

1. to appease or pacify, especially by concessions or conciliatory gestures.

   to placate an outraged citizenry.

   Synonyms:

   satisfy, conciliate

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placate ² American  

[plak-eyt, -it] / ˈplæk eɪt, -ɪt /

Also placcate,

noun

Armor.

1. a piece of plate armor of the 15th to the 18th century protecting the lower part of the torso in front: used especially as a reinforcement over a breastplate.

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placate British  

/ pləˈkeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to pacify or appease

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Other Word Forms

• placater noun
• placation noun
• unplacated adjective

Etymology

Origin of placate¹

First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin plācātus, past participle of plācāre “to quiet, calm, appease,” akin to placēre “to please”; cf. please

Origin of placate²

First recorded in 1625–35; apparently variant of placard

Explanation

If you placate someone, you stop them from being angry by giving them something or doing something that pleases them. If your dad is annoyed that you forgot to take out the trash, you might be able to placate him by doing the dishes. If your little sister is mad that the dog ate her favorite teddy bear, you could placate her by buying her an ice cream cone. A near synonym for placate is appease. The origin of placate is Latin placare, "to calm or soothe." The related Latin verb placere is the source of English please.

Example Sentences

But it will have its work cut out to placate the mercurial Republican.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

In 1957, a young Queen Elizabeth was sent to New York to placate a furious President Eisenhower after Britain, along with Israel and France, invaded Egypt without informing the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

In that Peacock series, Elizabeth Banks’ Lindy Littlejohn is a best-selling author tired of diminishing her well-earned reputation to placate her husband, a bumbling scientist.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

And she has one of the best laugh lines in the movie when she bats her eyes at the baddies and tries to placate them with, “You guys seem like good people.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Together we manage employees’ problems, placate customers, massage vendors.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Related Words

• appease
• assuage
• mollify
• pacify
• reconcile
• satisfy
• soothe