PROPITIATE: "to appease or gain favor by performing actions aimed at pleasing someone"

By MsW


"Propitiate" is a verb that means to appease or gain favor by performing actions aimed at pleasing someone, particularly a deity, spirit, or powerful entity. The word comes from the Latin word "propitiare," which means "to make favorable" or "to render favorable."

Sample sentences:

1. The ancient ritual was performed to propitiate the gods and ensure a bountiful harvest. 

2. She offered gifts to propitiate her angry neighbor after the misunderstanding.

3.  The villagers made offerings to propitiate the spirits believed to inhabit the nearby forest.
4.  In some cultures, sacrifices were made to propitiate the wrath of the gods during difficult times. 
5. The company offered discounts and special deals to propitiate dissatisfied customers.

These sentences demonstrate different contexts in which the word "propitiate" might be used, indicating actions taken to gain favor, appease, or pacify someone or something.


Synonyms: pacify, placate, mollify

Antonyms: antagonize, offend, displease

clipped from dictionary.reference.com
propitiate \pro-PISH-ee-ayt\, transitive verb:
To render favorably inclined; to appease; to conciliate (one offended).
Azorka, a black house-dog, probably conscious of his guilt in barking for nothing and anxious to propitiate us, approached us, diffidently wagging his tail.
-- Anton Chekhov, "Lights"
Yet the Fairy Bridge . . . didn't get its name for nothing. Here the locals lift a hand ever so slightly and mutter "Hello, little people," to propitiate the fairies underneath.
-- Helen Gibson, "Rewards and Fairies",  Time Europe, April 30, 2001
Cultivated pagans long survived but retreated to form private societies, practicing secret rites to propitiate the gods to avert drought or earthquake from their home cities.
-- Henry Chadwick, "Greasing the 4th-Century Palm",  New York Times, November 15, 1992
Propitiate derives from Latin propitius, "favorable."
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