Pacificates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Causes someone or something to become calm or less agitated
2. Reduces agitation or anger to restore peace or tranquility
3. Quietens emotional or physical disturbance to achieve calmness

Etymology: "Pacificates" is the third-person singular present form of "pacificate," meaning to make someone or something calm or less agitated. The verb is a learned borrowing from Latin "pacificare," which combines "pax" (peace) with the verb-forming element "-ficare" (to make), so the literal sense is "to make peace" or "to make peaceful." English took the Latin past participial stem "pacificat-" as its base, a pattern that places it among the many Latinate verbs built on that stem. Its other possible route is less formal: the verb may be a back-formation from "pacification," the noun that English already had, so that speakers worked backwards to create a verb from it. Either way, the word shares its family with Portuguese "pacificar," Spanish "pacificar," and Italian "pacificare," which all reflect the same Latin ancestor.

Synonyms: calm, settle, appease, reconcile

Antonyms: agitate, incite, provoke