placate

«placate» in Mova's school dictionary: To make someone feel less angry or upset, often by giving… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (placate, placates, placated, placating)

meaning for a pupil

To make someone feel less angry or upset, often by giving them something or saying something kind. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life and stories, people placate an angry friend, a crying child or an upset customer. In history and myths, people tried to placate gods with gifts. Similar: calm, soothe, pacify.

examples

• She tried to placate her brother with a biscuit. tree →
• The shop gave a free gift to placate the angry customer. tree →
• Nothing could placate the furious teacher. tree →
• Ancient people offered gifts to placate their gods. tree →
• He apologised to placate his friend. tree →
• The manager placated the fans with free tickets. tree →

note

Regular verb. Pronounced "pluh-KATE" (UK) or "PLAY-kate" (US). Adjective: placatory. Similar to pacify.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «placate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.