1
as in to appease
to lessen the anger or agitation of
the only thing that would pacify the child and end the tantrum was a new toy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to subdue
to bring under one's control by force of arms
additional ground forces were needed to occupy those areas that had already been pacified
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pacify
Despite American claims that the attack on Bud Dajo would pacify the restive Moros, the unrest continued.
—
Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Some of the men, scorning old wives’ tales, prefer to pacify God and ask him for protection from the elements.
—Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Not every unhappy person can be completely pacified, but reaching out to offer to listen can certainly be a valuable step in reducing negative noise.
—Dee Blohm, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
It was deployed to pacify the stronghold of the Zetas cartel, but operated indiscriminately and with impunity.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacify
Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Some of the men, scorning old wives’ tales, prefer to pacify God and ask him for protection from the elements.
—Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Not every unhappy person can be completely pacified, but reaching out to offer to listen can certainly be a valuable step in reducing negative noise.
—Dee Blohm, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
It was deployed to pacify the stronghold of the Zetas cartel, but operated indiscriminately and with impunity.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pacify
Verb
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In his dealings with Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin has tried to appease the U.S. president by appearing to negotiate peace, but without offering any meaningful concessions to Kyiv.—
Anatoly Kurmanaev,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
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If there are no significant changes to the front office and coaching staff after the 2025 season, then Black will be the fall guy for a team that had to do something to appease the fans.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Officers used a taser on the man to try to subdue him, according to Cleverdon.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
19 May 2025
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One of the investigators fired non-lethal beanbag rounds at the man to try to subdue him, but Hampson fled.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Educate Yourself, And Be Prepared The very best way to conquer your business fear and build confidence as a leader is to do the work required to be at your best.—
Michelle Mekky,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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Putnam was always photographed with famous people: standing next to Charles Lindbergh, first man to fly solo across the Atlantic; posing with Commander Byrd, the man who conquered the South Pole; smiling with Howard Carter, the man who discovered King Tut.—
/ CBS News,
CBS News,
25 May 2025
Verb
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Rihanna’s ability to dominate the pop arena without compromising her Barbadian hertiage certainly served as a breakthrough for Caribbean artists.—
Ime Ekpo,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
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Moreover, Rocket has a relatively new CEO who wants to dominate the mortgage industry and is not afraid of technology, previously working at Intuit, PayPal, Groupon and Microsoft.—
Kenneth Squire,
CNBC,
24 May 2025
Verb
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Use of the funds to pay for unapproved expenses would subject accountholders to penalties.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
22 May 2025
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And that order clearly violates the separation of powers, subjecting a presidential advisory body to intrusive discovery and threatening the confidentiality and candor of its advice, putatively to address a legal question that never should have necessitated discovery in this case at all.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Learning how to overcome your own anxiety is the first step to helping your kids do the same, said Robbins.—
Ashton Jackson,
CNBC,
30 May 2025
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The odds remain against them — only 16.1% of teams have overcome a 3-2 deficit in NBA playoff history — but the Knicks are coming off their best all-around performance of the series.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2025
Verb
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And while Maresca’s position as head coach isn’t greatly consolidated by winning the least of them, defeat to Betis would have hurt him.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
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Florida is 48-15 on the season and defeated its conference foe, Georgia, in the Super Regional.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pacify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pacify. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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