placate
UK /pləˈkeɪt/ · US /ˈpleɪkeɪt/ verb, adjective
Forms placates placating placated
- verb (transitive) To calm; to bring peace to; to influence someone who was furious to the point that they become content or at least no longer irate.
- adjective (rare, obsolete) Placid, peaceful.
Synonyms
pacify appease assuage soothe conciliate mollify propitiate satisfy lenify gentle gruntle
Antonyms
Etymology
First attested in the late 17ᵗʰ century; borrowed from Latin plācātus, perfect passive participle of plācō (“appease, placate”, literally “smooth, smoothen”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more), ultimately thought to be from Proto-Indo-European *plāk- (“smooth, flat”), from *pele- (“broad, flat, plain”). Related to Latin placeō (“appease”), Old English flōh (“flat stone, chip”). More at please.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Same as Placard, 4 & 5.
- verb To appease; to pacify; to concilate. "Therefore is he always propitiated and placated." Cudworth.
Etymology [L. placatus, p.p. of placare to placate, akin to placere to please. See Please.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “placate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details