pacify

English

Etymology

From Middle French pacifier, from Latin pāx (“peace”) + faciō (“to do, make”). Cognate with pay and peacify.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpæsɪfaɪ/, /ˈpæsəfaɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: passify

Verb

pacify (third-person singular simple present pacifies, present participle pacifying, simple past and past participle pacified)

1. (transitive) To bring peace to (a place or situation), by ending (or suppressing) war, fighting, violence, anger or agitation.

   Near-synonyms: peacify, repacify, allay, locarnize

   Their orders were to pacify the province by destroying resistance.

2. (transitive) To appease (someone).

   Synonyms: placate; see others there

   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

     Watt decided in the end that an examination of Erskine's room was essential, if his mind was to be pacified, in this connexion.

   • 2000, “The Hollow”, performed by A Perfect Circle:

     Screaming feed me here
     Fill me up again
     Temporarily pacifying

Derived terms

• pacifiable
• pacifier
• pacifyingly
• repacify
• unpacify
• unpacifying

Related terms

• pacific
• pacifier
• pacifism
• pacifist
• pacifistic
• passive
• peace

Translations

bring peace, ending fighting

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: խաղաղել (hy) (xaġaġel), խաղաղեցնել (hy) (xaġaġecʻnel)
• Asturian: apanguar
• Bulgarian: умиротворявам (bg) (umirotvorjavam)
• Czech: uklidnit (cs) pf
• French: pacifier (fr)
• Galician: pacificar (gl)
• German: befrieden (de)
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍉𐌽 (gafriþōn)
• Greek: κατευνάζω (el) (katevnázo)
• Ido: pacigar (io)
• Irish: ceansaigh
• Italian: pacificare (it)
• Japanese: 鎮める (ja) (shizumeru)
• Latin: pācificō, pācō (la)
• Māori: whakamārie, whakamāriri, whakamāhaki, whakamahuru, whakarangimārie, whakangehe
• Old English: stillan
• Persian: خواباندن (fa) (xwâbândan) (of fighting or anger, informal), فرونشاندن (fa) (foru-nešândan) (of anger, formal)
• Portuguese: pacificar (pt), apaziguar (pt)
• Sicilian: appaciari
• Spanish: pacificar (es), apaciguar (es)
• Swedish: pacificera (sv)

appease — see also appease

• Bulgarian: укротявам (bg) (ukrotjavam), успокоявам (bg) (uspokojavam)
• Czech: uklidnit (cs) pf, utišit (cs) pf, uchlácholit (cs) pf, chlácholit (cs) impf
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• German: friedlich stimmen
• Māori: whakaepaepa