placate
verb
- to make less hostile
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /pləˈkeɪt/ / /pleɪˈkeɪt/ / /ˈpleɪkeɪt/
adj
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.
- Placid, peaceful.
“When are you more placate and serene?”
verb
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.
- 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.
“The gleam of the light on the paper placated his professional anger, and he wrote rapidly, the final dash of his signature curling the paper up in a triangular tear.”
“To-day a deity who should require bleeding sacrifices to placate him would be too sanguinary to be taken seriously.”