placate
PLAY-kayt
/pləˈkeɪt/
To make someone less angry or hostile, usually by making concessions or being pleasant.
Placate often implies that the person being calmed was rightfully or intensely angry, and you are doing something specific to soothe them.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'placare', meaning 'to soothe or appease.' It is closely related to 'placere' (to please). The original sense was to make someone 'pleased' so they would stop being angry.
Word relationships
- appease: Appease often has a negative connotation of giving in to unreasonable demands to avoid conflict; placate is more neutral about the act of soothing.
- enrage: Enrage means to make someone extremely angry, the opposite of placating them.
Commonly confused with
- mollify: Mollify means to soften someone's temper; placate is specifically about reducing hostility or anger.
Word family
- placation (noun): The act of making someone less angry.
- placatory (adjective): Intended to make someone less angry.
Collocations
- placate an opponent
- placate the masses
- attempt to placate
Example sentences
- "The manager tried to placate the angry customer by offering a full refund and a discount on future purchases." Business
- "The government's small tax cut did little to placate the protesters demanding systemic change." Politics
Memory hook
To placate is to put a 'plate' of cookies in front of an angry person to calm them down. Soothe the storm.
When not to use
Do not use when you are simply being nice; it implies an active effort to reduce hostility.
Fun facts
- The word 'implacable' describes someone who cannot be placated, no matter what you do.
Related words
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