appease

English

Etymology

From Middle English apesen, from Old French apeser (“to pacify, bring to peace”), from a (“to”) + pais, modification of French paix (“peace”); see peace.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈpiːz/, SAMPA: /@"pi:z/
• Rhymes: -iːz

Verb

appease (third-person singular simple present appeases, present participle appeasing, simple past and past participle appeased)

1. To make quiet; to calm; to reduce to a state of peace; to dispel (anger or hatred).

   to appease the tumult of the ocean

   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21

     `First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions. You may as well be quiet. It is not the first time, or the second, that your veins have appeased my thirst!'

2. To come to terms with; to adapt to the demands of.

   They appeased the angry gods with burnt offerings.

Synonyms

• (reduce to a state of peace): calm, pacify, placate, quell, quiet, still, lull
• (come to terms with): mollify, propitiate

Antonyms

• antagonize

Derived terms

appeaser appeasement appeasatory

Translations

To make quiet; to calm; to reduce to a state of peace; to still; to pacify

Bulgarian: укротявам (bg), облекчавам (bg), утолявам (bg) Dutch: kalmeren (nl) French: apaiser (fr) Hebrew: לפייס (he) (le'fayes) Hungarian: csillapít (hu) Italian: placare (it), pacificare (it), calmare (it), pacificare (it), calmare (it) Latin: pācificō (la) Nahuatl: yolceuiz

Norwegian: stille (no), roe (no) Portuguese: apaziguar (pt) Romanian: astâmpăra (ro) Russian: умировтворять, успокаивать Spanish: apaciguar (es), calmar (es), aplacar (es) Swahili: afiki (sw) Swedish: blidka (sv), stilla (sv), lugna (sv), släcka (sv), mildra (sv) Telugu: batimalatam

External links

• appease in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• appease in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911