Adjacent Words

Pacify definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PACIFY, v.t. [L., peace, and to make.]
1. To appease, as wrath or other violent passion or appetite; to calm; to still; to quiet; to allay agitation or excitement; as, to pacify a man when angry, or to pacify his wrath or rage; the word being applied both to the person and to the passion. So we say, to pacify hunger, to pacify importunate demands.
2. To restore peace to; to tranquilize; as, to pacify countries in contention.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, placate, gentle, gruntle]
2: fight violence and try to establish peace in (a location); "The U.N. troops are working to pacify Bosnia"

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (-fied; -fying) Etymology: Middle English pacifien, from Anglo-French pacifier, from Latin pacificare, from pac-, pax peace Date: 15th century 1. a. to allay the anger or agitation of ; soothe <pacify a crying child> b. appease, propitiate 2. a. to restore to a tranquil state ; settle <made an attempt to pacify the commotion> b. to reduce to a submissive state ; subdue <forces moved in to pacify the country> • pacifiable adjective Synonyms: pacify, appease, placate, mollify, propitiate, conciliate mean to ease the anger or disturbance of. pacify suggests a soothing or calming <pacified by a sincere apology>. appease implies quieting insistent demands by making concessions <appease their territorial ambitions>. placate suggests changing resentment or bitterness to goodwill <a move to placate local opposition>. mollify implies soothing hurt feelings or rising anger <a speech that mollified the demonstrators>. propitiate implies averting anger or malevolence especially of a superior being <propitiated his parents by dressing up>. conciliate suggests ending an estrangement by persuasion, concession, or settling of differences <conciliating the belligerent nations>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (-ies, -ied) 1 appease (a person, anger, etc.). 2 bring (a country etc.) to a state of peace. Etymology: ME f. OF pacifier or L pacificare (as PACIFIC)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pacify Pac"i*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pacified; p. pr. & vb. n. Pacifying.] [F. pacifier, L. pacificare; pax, pacis, peace + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Peace, and -fy.] To make to be at peace; to appease; to calm; to still; to quiet; to allay the agitation, excitement, or resentment of; to tranquillize; as, to pacify a man when angry; to pacify pride, appetite, or importunity. ``Pray ye, pacify yourself.'' --Shak. To pacify and settle those countries. --Bacon.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pacifies, pacifying, pacified) 1. If you pacify someone who is angry, upset, or not pleased, you succeed in making them calm or pleased. Is this a serious step, or is this just something to pacify the critics?... = placate VERB: V n 2. If the army or the police pacify a group of people, they use force to overcome their resistance or protests. Government forces have found it difficult to pacify the rebels... VERB: V n • pacification ...the pacification of the country.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Conciliate, appease, give peace to, restore harmony to, tranquillize. 2. Tranquillize, assuage, calm, still, quiet, lull, smooth, compose, moderate, hush, quell, lay, allay, soften, soothe, mollify, appease.

Moby Thesaurus

allay, alleviate, appease, arrange, array, assuage, calm, calm down, cease, compose, conciliate, cool, cool off, cradle, defuse, deploy, die down, dispose, dulcify, dwindle, ease, ebb, even out, form, gentle, grade, halt, harmonize, hierarchize, hush, lay, lay out, lay the dust, line up, lull, marshal, methodize, mitigate, moderate, molder, mollify, normalize, order, organize, placate, pour balm into, pour balm on, propitiate, qualify, quell, quiesce, quiet, quieten, rank, regularize, regulate, relieve, rest, rock, rock to sleep, routinize, set up, smooth, smooth down, smooth over, smoothen, soften, soothe, stabilize, standardize, steady, still, stop, structure, subdue, subside, sweeten, systematize, temper, tranquilize, wane