placate
1[ pley-keyt, plak-eyt ]
/ ˈpleɪ keɪt, ˈplæk eɪt /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object), pla·cat·ed, pla·cat·ing.
to appease or pacify, especially by concessions or conciliatory gestures: to placate an outraged citizenry.
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!
In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
Question 1 of 7
The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of placate
1First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin plācātus, past participle of plācāre “to quiet, calm, appease,” akin to placēre “to please”; cf. please
OTHER WORDS FROM placate
pla·cat·er, nounpla·ca·tion [pley-key-shuhn], /pleɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, nounun·pla·cat·ed, adjectiveOther definitions for placate (2 of 2)
placate2
[ plak-eyt, -it ]
/ ˈplæk eɪt, -ɪt /
noun Armor.
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.
Origin of placate
2First recorded in 1625–35; apparently variant of placard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use placate in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for placate
placate
/ (pləˈkeɪt) /
verb
(tr) to pacify or appease
Derived forms of placate
placation, nounWord Origin for placate
C17: from Latin plācāre; see placable
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