appeasement

/ə'pi:zmənt/

Thân thiện

The diplomat's appeasement of the neighboring country involved offering economic concessions.

Definition

Noun: 1. The act of making someone less angry or hostile by giving in to their demands: This is the primary meaning, describing a policy or action of pacifying an aggressor or dissatisfied party through concessions. 2. The state of being appeased; pacification: The result of such an action, leading to calm or the temporary avoidance of conflict.

Usage

• Appeasement is most commonly used in political and historical contexts to describe a strategy of avoiding war by accepting some of the demands of a hostile power. It often carries a negative connotation, implying short-sightedness or weakness.
• It can also be used in more general interpersonal or diplomatic situations where one party yields to another to maintain peace.

Examples

• Historical/Political Context:
  • The policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany in the 1930s failed to prevent World War II.
  • Critics accused the government of appeasement for agreeing to the trade terms.
• General Context:
  • Giving the child a cookie was a simple act of appeasement to stop the tantrum.
  • The manager's appeasement of the angry customer involved a full refund.

Advanced Usage

• "Policy of appeasement": A formal strategy of making concessions to an adversary.
  • Historians debate the effectiveness of the policy of appeasement.
• "Appeasement strategy": A tactical approach focused on conciliation.
  • Their appeasement strategy only emboldened the opposition.

Variants and Related Words

• Appease (verb): To pacify or placate by acceding to demands.
  • They tried to appease the protesters with promises of reform.
• Appeaser (noun): A person who advocates or practices appeasement.
  • He was labeled an appeaser for his diplomatic approach.

Synonyms

• Placation: The act of pacifying or making someone less angry.
• Conciliation: The action of stopping someone from being angry or discontented.
• Propitation: The action of appeasing a god, spirit, or person.
• Pacification: The action of bringing peace to an area or ending war.

Antonyms

• Provocation: Action or speech that makes someone angry, especially deliberately.
• Confrontation: A hostile or argumentative situation or meeting between opposing parties.
• Resistance: The refusal to accept or comply with something.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• To feed the crocodile, hoping it will eat you last: An idiom describing the futile and dangerous logic of appeasement.
  • His concessions were like feeding the crocodile; it only made the demands greater.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the act of appeasing (as by acceding to the demands of)

Từ đồng nghĩa

• calming