conciliatory

adjective

con·​cil·​ia·​to·​ry kən-ˈsil-yə-ˌtȯr-ē 

-ˈsi-lē-ə-

: intended to gain goodwill or favor or to reduce hostility : tending or intended to conciliate

speaking in a conciliatory tone

But while the conference call might have been seen as a conciliatory gesture, an olive branch to his critics after weeks of bitter back-and-forth, the meeting seemed anything but.

—Colin Deppen

He was self-assured, aggressive, combative, at times willing to offend and at times trying to sound conciliatory.

—Dan Balz

Did you know?

If you are conciliatory towards someone, you're trying to win that person over to your side. The verb conciliate was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb conciliare, meaning "to assemble, unite, or win over." Conciliare, in turn, comes from Latin concilium, meaning "assembly" or "council." Conciliatory, which appeared in English a bit later in the 16th century, also traces back to conciliare. Another word that has conciliare as a root is reconcile, the earliest meaning of which is "to restore to friendship or harmony."

Synonyms

• placatory
• soothing
• benevolent
• peaceful
• propitiatory
• conciliating
• comforting
• kind
• pacific
• appeasing
• gentle
• mollifying
• calming
• placating

Examples of conciliatory in a Sentence

eased the tension with conciliatory remarks

Recent Examples on the Web

Even for those in the North who didn’t care a damn for the four million held in brutal bondage, or those who wanted a soft, conciliatory approach, the war began to take on new and moral meaning. —Jack Sheehan september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025

There is nothing subdued or conciliatory in its account of the brutal transfer of power which comes when a parent is failing and a child assumes command. —Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025

His statement was more conciliatory to Israel than others, however, constantly stressing Brussels’s firm stance against Hamas and antisemitism. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2025

Nuno himself spoke in a noticeably more conciliatory tone in the pre-match press conference for this game that same day. —Paul Taylor, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conciliatory

• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory
• celebratory
• circulatory
• combinatory
• commendatory
• compensatory
• condemnatory
• confirmatory
• confiscatory

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