appease
Americanverb (used with object)
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appeases,
present (3rd person singular)
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appeased,
past participle, past
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appeasing
present participle
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to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe.
to appease an angry king.
- Antonyms:
- enrage
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to satisfy, allay, or relieve; assuage.
The fruit appeased his hunger.
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to yield or concede to the belligerent demands of (a nation, group, person, etc.) in a conciliatory effort, sometimes at the expense of justice or other principles.
- Antonyms:
- defy
verb
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to calm, pacify, or soothe, esp by acceding to the demands of
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to satisfy or quell (an appetite or thirst, etc)
Synonym Usage
Appease, conciliate, propitiate imply trying to preserve or obtain peace. To appease is to make anxious overtures and often undue concessions to satisfy the demands of someone with a greed for power, territory, etc.: Chamberlain tried to appease Hitler at Munich. To conciliate is to win an enemy or opponent over by displaying a willingness to be just and fair: When mutual grievances are recognized, conciliation is possible. To propitiate is to admit a fault, and, by trying to make amends, to allay hostile feeling: to propitiate an offended neighbor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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appeasablenessnoun
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appeasementnoun
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appeasernoun
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appeasableadjective
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nonappeasableadjective
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nonappeasingadjective
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unappeasableadjective
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unappeasedadjective
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unappeasingadjective
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appeasablyadverb
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appeasinglyadverb
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unappeasablyadverb
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unappeasinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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appeasesimple
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appeasessimple
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have appeasedperfect
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has appeasedperfect
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am appeasingprogressive
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are appeasingprogressive
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is appeasingprogressive
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have been appeasingperfect progressive
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has been appeasingperfect progressive
Past
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appeasedsimple
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had appeasedperfect
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was appeasingprogressive
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were appeasingprogressive
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had been appeasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of appease
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English apesen, from Anglo-French apeser, Old French apais(i)er; equivalent to a- 5 + peace
Explanation
Appease means to make or preserve peace with a nation, group, or person by giving in to their demands, or to relieve a problem, as in "the cold drink appeased his thirst." Appease often implies abandoning your moral principles to satisfy the demands of someone who is greedy for power: think of British Prime Minister Chamberlain's attempt to appease the Nazis at Munich. The verb appease comes from the Old French apaisier, "to pacify, make peace, or be reconciled," from the phrase "a paisier," which combines a-, or "to," and pais, "peace," from the Latin pax.
Vocabulary lists containing appease
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“You’ve got to try and find a way that you can appease everyone.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Whatever the assignment was supposed to accomplish, it did not appease the man it was designed to flatter.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
But Parton refused to distance herself from Fonda just to appease her more conservative fans.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Evergrande struggled to appease angry homebuyers and investors, as the firm's crisis triggered rare protests outside its offices in China.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“My plan was to get here first when I knew you’d still be out so that I’d have time to—to—” I search for an explanation that will appease him.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
"Having a clear goal, something that you can actually realise, is something that we don't necessarily have in everyday life, and that appeases our brain," says Dr Christensen.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
HBO’s drama expands a beloved video game into a series that appeases longtime fans and appeals to new viewers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2023
The show appeases an audience that yearns for repeat acts of closure, or comforting examples of approximate justice.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2022
But he also made clear that he does not want an early election, something that will be hard to avoid unless he appeases Mr. Ziobro and fellow Euroskeptics.
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2021
I look between them, hoping that my solution appeases both of them.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Data center operators are holding open houses, inviting residents to air their frustrations—and hoping they come away appeased.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
While the funding plan removed what Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick called the “monkey off the back” for Oracle, it hasn’t appeased skeptical investors.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026
Los Blancos were in charge but despite taking the lead, their fans were not appeased, and whistled the team in at the break.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
“Appeasement may well be a viable strategy when the party being appeased is willing to take the win and stand down,” writes Steve Vladeck of Georgetown law school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
I was rarely appeased by the words piping hot.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
This week underscored the challenge the New York City mayor faces in hewing to those deeply held beliefs and appeasing his political base while governing the nation’s largest city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Finding the perfect position appeasing those on either side of an issue is exhausting work and prone to error.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
"This announcement appears to be about appeasing the markets and its shareholders while ignoring its workers," she said at the time.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2025
McDonald’s and Oracle are among the growing list of clients choosing to part ways with the appeasing firms.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2025
Then she said in an appeasing voice, "You certainly have put your time in."
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
