Word of the Day

Monday, February 10, 2003

placate

\PLAY-kayt; PLAK-ayt\ , transitive verb;

To appease; to pacify, especially by making concessions.

Read the full entry|See synonyms|Comment on today's word

Quotes:

The apologetic owner told us that the lunch was on the house, which barely placated my friend.

-- George Lang, Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen

In order to placate the newsmen who were threatening to leave, her husband, John Biddulph Martin, the wealthy head of a family-owned bank in London, ordered the waiters to serve whiskey and ham sandwiches.

-- Barbara Goldsmith, Other Powers

I envision the challenge that faces us in education as a two-headed dragon demanding daily human sacrifice to keep it placated and to prevent it from devouring the city.

-- Roger Shattuck, Candor and Perversion

Origin:

Placate derives from the past participle of Latin placare, "to calm, to placate."