Appease Meaning
/əˈpiːz/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo make quiet; to calm; to reduce to a state of peace; to dispel (anger or hatred).
verbTo make quiet; to calm; to reduce (something) to a state of peace; to dispel (anger, hatred, etc.).
Sentence Examples
Management tried to appease labor by offering them a bonus.
Only a sincere apology will appease my anger.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The manager offered a discount to ____ the angry customer who complained loudly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company tried to ____ the angry customers with a full refund.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English apesen, from Old French apeser (“to pacify, bring to peace”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"'First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions. You may as well be quiet. It is not the first time, or the second, that your veins have appeased my thirst!'"
— 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
"Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has suggested climate change is “probably doing good” in a speech in London in which he likened policies to combat it to “primitive people once killing goats to appease the volcano gods” ."
— 2017 October 9, Karl Mathiesen, quoting Tony Abbott, “Tony Abbott says climate change is 'probably doing good'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"It's been slowly hacked back, amid fears of escalating costs, by politicians who have also increased those costs by adding expensive structures such as tunnels to appease opponents."
— 2024 October 30, Philip Haigh, “Poor planning and lack of clarity damages rail projects”, in RAIL, number 1021, page 50:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The manager offered a discount to ____ the angry customer who complained loudly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company tried to ____ the angry customers with a full refund.