Make Your Point > Archived Issues > APPEASE

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pronounce APPEASE: Say it "uh PEEZ." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: You've probably seen those Snickers ads, the ones promising that a tasty Snickers bar will appease your hunger, along with your anger or grouchiness. It makes sense. It's hard to frown or yell at people with a chocolate bar in your mouth. With that in mind, see if you can recall this closely related synonym of appease: To p__ify people who are upset, angry, or in pain--often, babies--is to make them calm or peaceful.  (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   definition: "Appease" has Latin bits that mean "to bring to a peace." If you appease someone, you soothe them, calm them down, or give them what they want so that they stop making such a fuss. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind: "They appeased her;" "They appeased his anger." Other forms:  The common ones are "appeased," "appeasing," and "appeasement." People doing the appeasing are "appeasers." Something that appeases someone is "appeasive." Lastly, people (and their anger) can be appeasable--or inappeasable, or appeaseless. how to use it: "Appease" is a common, formal word. You may want to choose it (instead of "calm," "quell," or "subdue," for instance) because someone is making a fuss, and someone else is trying to calm them down. By choosing the word "appease," you're emphasizing that the person making the fuss is being cranky, greedy, or unreasonable--and that whatever is being done to calm them down isn't actually solving the whole problem, but just making it a little better, possibly for only a little while, and possibly with bad consequences.  We talk about people, actions, and events that appease people, sometimes with something: "Legend says you can appease the beast with a song;" "They appeased the bully with a wad of cash." We also talk about things that appease people's anger, or some other strong, negative emotion, like frustration. Things can also appease people's hunger, cravings, or desires. Sometimes all at once: "The cookie appeased the toddler's rage." I should mention that the noun, "appeasement," often has a political flavor and a negative tone, hinting that someone is giving some evil enemy what they want instead of standing up to them--a move that may be both cowardly and dangerous. Here's the full historical backstory on appeasement. examples: "They find a heap of guavas the other boys left behind on the shoulder of the road. Enough guavas to appease even the greediest Island santo for life!"    — Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, 1991 "Nothing less than the sacrifice of Agamemnon's favorite daughter, Iphigenia, would appease the wrath of the goddess."    — E. M. Berens, Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome, 1880 has this page helped you understand "appease"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "appease" without saying "console" or "placate." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Some particular thing) will not appease (someone). (That person) must have (something else)." Example 1: "Celery won't appease me. I must have Goldfish. Cheesy, salty, junky Goldfish." Example 2: "Castles and courtesies will not appease him, he must have blood. Well, I am of a mind to grant his wish."    — George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, 1998 If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game this month is "Clues in Cobbled Haikus." Check out the haiku, cobbled together from the work of a famous writer, and see if you can identify the term it's suggesting.  Try this one today: Cobbled from the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the haiku below suggests which of the following terms: etiolated, gilt-edged, or addlepated?    Volumes on banking,    red and gold like new money    shining secrets, fine. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. review this word: 1. A near opposite of APPEASE is A. MIX IN. B. RILE UP. C. DISMISS. 2. Myths often recount how people _____ to appease their _____ gods. A. prepare elaborate meals .. merry B. sacrifice innocent people .. wrathful C. celebrate natural wonders .. bountiful Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answer to the game question: The cobbled haiku suggests the term gilt-edged. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.