Pacify

//ˈpæsɪfaɪ// verb

verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To bring peace to (a place or situation), by ending (or suppressing) war, fighting, violence, anger or agitation. transitive

    "Near-synonyms: peacify, repacify, allay, locarnize"

  2. 2
    fight violence and try to establish peace in (a location) wordnet
  3. 3
    To appease (someone). transitive

    "Watt decided in the end that an examination of Erskine's room was essential, if his mind was to be pacified, in this connexion."

  4. 4
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
placateallayappeaseappeaseassuagecalm

Example

More examples

"He finds it easier to just pacify her than be straight up with her."

Etymology

From Middle French pacifier, from Latin pāx (“peace”) + faciō (“I do, make”). Cognate with pay and peacify.

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