placates

Placates is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb placate. In everyday use, placate means to calm or appease someone by making concessions, offering assurances, or performing conciliatory gestures aimed at reducing anger, fear, or hostility.

Origin: The word placate comes from Latin placatus 'pleased, made calm,' from placere 'to please.' It reached English via Latin and Old French during the Middle Ages. The noun form placation and the related adjective placatory are also used in this family of terms.

Usage and nuance: Placates are common in diplomacy, labor relations, politics, and interpersonal encounters. Placing emphasis on concessions or soothing actions, placation can defuse immediate tension but may be viewed as superficial if it does not address underlying causes. Critics argue that repeated placation can encourage further demands or erode trust, while proponents see it as a practical step to prevent escalation.

Examples: The company placates the workforce with a temporary wage increase and new safety measures. Politicians sometimes placate critics by promising reforms, even when actions are slow to follow. In psychology, placating behavior can be a coping mechanism in conflict, sometimes masking unresolved issues.

Related terms: placation (the act of placating), placatory (serving to placate), appease, conciliate, pacify, mollify.