pacify

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“
And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To ease the anger or agitation of.
  2. transitive verb To end war, fighting, or violence in; establish peace in.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: pacify, mollify, conciliate, appease, placate
    These verbs refer to allaying another's anger, belligerence, discontent, or agitation. To pacify is to restore calm to or establish peace in: "The explanation . . . was merely an invention framed to pacify his guests” (Charlotte Brontë). An army was required in order to pacify the islands.
    Mollify stresses the soothing of hostile feelings: The therapist mollified the angry teenager by speaking gently.
    Conciliate implies winning over, often by reasoning and with mutual concessions: "A wise government knows how to enforce with temper or to conciliate with dignity” (George Grenville).
    Appease and placate suggest satisfying claims or demands or tempering antagonism, often by granting concessions: I appeased my friend's anger with a compliment. A sincere apology placated the indignant customer.

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Examples (50)

  • We talked about the role playing, the reacting, the kind of dialogue, the pitter-patter used to pacify or otherwise gain the confidence of the   person. —  TEDBUNDY
  • Twenty years from now the US will still have troops slogging around the godforsaken hills and valleys of that country searching for someone to kill or pacify, yet unable to leave for lack of an enemy leader to wave the white flag. —  INSIGHT on Freedom
  • "Forty one years after that infamous incident in Corregidor, the government still continues to engage in deceptive ploys to pacify or suppress the legitimate cry of Filipinos particularly the Bangsamoro," KAWAGIB Spokesperson Bai Ali Indayla said. —  MindaNews Feeds
  • Some folks believe we should coddle, pacify, and speak gently to the lower tier. —  Afronerd: putting the Black Bourgeoisie back on top(of the Ghetto Masses)
  • Following the conquest, Roman soldiers were dispatched to "pacify" the restive streets of the newly conquered city. —  LewRockwell.com
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same contextWord Family

pacify:   pacified ·  pacifies
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English pacifien, from Old French pacifier, from Latin pācificāre : pāx, pāc-, peace; see pag- in Indo-European roots + -ficāre, -fy.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English *pacifien, pacefyen, from Old French pacifier, French pacifier = Spanish Portuguese pacificar = Italian pacificare, from Latin pacificare, make peace (cf. pacificus, making peace: see pacific), from pax (pac-), peace (see peace), + facere, make: see-fy.
 

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/ˈpæsɪfai/
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