conciliatory
Other forms: conciliatorily
If you're in a fight with a friend and you want to end it, you should make a conciliatory gesture, such as inviting her to a party you're having. Conciliatory describes things that make other people less angry.
The context is often a situation in which a dispute is settled by compromise. A synonym is propitiatory, though this adjective usually refers to avoiding the anger of someone who has the power to harm. In the word conciliatory, the –ory suffix means "relating to or doing," and the root is from Latin conciliatus, from conciliare "to bring together, win over," from concilium "council."
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making or willing to make concessionssynonyms: compromising, flexibleyieldingtending to give in or surrender or agree
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intended to placate“a conciliatory visit”synonyms: conciliativeappeasing, placating, placative, placatoryintended to pacify by acceding to demands or granting concessionspacificpromoting peacesoftwilling to negotiate and compromiseantonyms:antagonisticarousing animosity or hostilityalienatingcausing hostility or loss of friendliness
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Vocabulary lists containing conciliatory
On the SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a U.S. founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 25 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
This scathing dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials is also an allegory of Senator Joseph McCarthy's pursuit of Communists in the 1950s.