verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb

1. 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"

2. 2
   make peace with wordnet
3. 3
   To come to terms with; to adapt to the demands of.

   "They appeased the angry gods with burnt offerings."

4. 4
   overcome or allay wordnet
5. 5
   cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

allayassuagecalmmollifypacifypacify

Antonyms

All antonyms

agitateantagonizeenrageupset

Example

More examples

"Management tried to appease labor by offering them a bonus."

Etymology

From Middle English apesen, from Old French apeser (“to pacify, bring to peace”).

Related phrases

come to terms

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.