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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
placate
verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
try
▪ Now Labour's support is falling, and the government is trying desperately to placate its business enemies.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ The noise control law could placate airport neighbors, who oppose growth because of the noise.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ And so Labour went into the election on a fudged policy designed more to placate Roy Hattersley than to win over voters.
▪ He used laughter as a way of placating persecution in advance.
▪ Her brooding sense of unease wouldn't be placated by his explanation.
▪ Herrera endeavored to placate the opposition by making preliminary defense preparations and by sending additional forces to the Rio Grande.
▪ Maybe by the time I was born, my parents had no need to pretend unhappiness to placate jealous spirits.
▪ Rory reflected gloomily as Candy sat down again, her momentary anger placated.
▪ Their manager has no doubt reached the point where he feels the fans must be placated.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Placate

Placate \Plac"ate\, n. Same as Placard, 4 & 5.

Placate

Placate \Pla"cate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placated; p. pr. & vb. n. Placating.] [L. placatus, p. p. of placare to placate, akin to placere to please. See Please.] To appease; to pacify; to concilate. ``Therefore is he always propitiated and placated.''
--Cudworth.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
placate

1670s, a back-formation from placation or else from Latin placatus "soothed, quiet, gentle, calm, peaceful," past participle of placare "to calm, appease, quiet, soothe, assuage," related to placere "to please" (see please). Related: Placated; placating; placatingly.

Wiktionary
placate

vb. (context transitive English) To calm; to bring peace to; to influence someone who was furious to the point that he or she becomes content or at least no longer irate.

WordNet
placate

v. cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, gentle, gruntle]

Usage examples of "placate".

Hobart Batt produced a professional, placating smile but there was a cautious expression in his eyes.

When primitive man sought to placate his dieties, it was that blood of his own kind that he burned on the altar.

If the fabulist did not attack, that would be evidence sufficient to placate the others.

Therefore all nations that might threaten Vendhya-Turan, Iranistan, the nations and city-states of Khitai and Uttara Koru and Kambuja-must be placated, made to feel neither threatened by nor threatening toward Vendhya.

Chivalry held out a placating hand to Molly, nodding at something she said.

He ends up Placating and apologizing and generally crawling about on the floor being an animated exercise mat for F.

At first Leicester, Burleigh and those who rejoiced that the menace was removed were aghast until they realized that she had no intention of being foolish and was merely placating her enemies.

Our attention now must be to the city, placating the King, of course, who is at this very moment eating his morning meal in the house of the merchant you executed.

But while placating Danube, we must work quickly to strengthen our grip over Palmaris.

King Danube will not oppose us now, not after the manner in which the woman attacked me, and not after your work, Bishop Francis, in placating the masses.

Out here I seem to spend as much time placating Pomptinus as I do at anything more productive.

Concealing his apprehension behind a stern expression, Zweller stepped between the two men and spread his hands in a placating gesture.

Placated, Reland stumbled forward a step and stood with legs braced wide apart as he gazed about him with heavily lidded eyes.

Wiser and less stubborn ones would have given up shrieking by now, silenced by fear of what was to come or even by an idea that it was better to placate than to annoy.

Sulfin Evend tapped the arrow in his hands, his placating smile a needle of sultry irritation.