Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PACIFY

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connect today's word to others: When you think of the word pacify, you might think of offering a pacifier to a cranky baby, or offering a pacifying apology to an adult who's acting like a cranky baby. Or you might imagine a quieter, more tender scene of pacification. Here's Walt Whitman, in The Wound Dresser:    Thus in silence, in dreams' projections,    Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals,    The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,    I sit by the restless all the dark night, some are so young,    Some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad... How soothing, and how peaceful. You can see why pacify comes from the Latin pacificare, "to make peace," from pax or pacis, "peace," the source of words like pay, peace, appease, and pacific. Speaking of pax and pacis, let's play with some Latin phrases about peace. See if you can match each to its English translation down below:  1. Si vis pacem para bellum.  (Hint: You can translate bellum by thinking about how bellicose means "eager to fight.") 2. Pacem in terris.    (Hint: You can translate terris by thinking about how terra firma means "solid ground.") 3. Pax et lux. (Hint: You can translate lux by thinking about how elucidate means "to make clear or bright.") 4. Pax matrum, ergo pax familiarum.    (Hint: You can translate matrum by thinking about words like matron, maternity, and matrimony.) Translations, in no particular order: A. Peace on Earth. B. Peace and light. C. If the mother is peaceful, the family is peaceful. D. If you want peace, prepare for war. make your point with... "PACIFY" When people are upset, angry, or in pain, to pacify them is to make them calm or peaceful. Pacifying people makes them calmer, quieter, more peaceful, or temporarily satisfied, but it often fails to solve the underlying problem that caused their original pains, anger, complaints, etc. Pronunciation: PASS ih fy Part of speech: Verb, usually the transitive kind: "we pacified them," "it pacifies the boss for now." Other forms worth knowing: pacified, pacifying, pacifyingly; pacifier(s); pacifiable;  pacification   How to use it: Often we talk about people, statements, offers, decisions, actions, or events that pacify other people or groups of people. Who tends to be pacified? Cranky kids, crabby customers, frustrated fans, disappointed consumers, offended audiences, angry citizens, wronged parties, injured victims, oppressed minorities, enslaved populations, etc. You can also pacify someone's mind, soul, heart, or spirit. Sometimes we'll use the pattern "to pacify someone with something:" "They pacified the toddler with a flashy cartoon." Or, "to pacify someone by doing something:" "They pacified the disgruntled employees by making a few minor changes in policy." And, you can pacify bad moods, bad thoughts, and bad emotions, like anger, resentment, suspicion, and hostility. On a larger scale, you can pacify unrest, uprisings, rebellions, and other problems involving anger and resentment. You can even get abstract and talk about people's attempts to pacify things like the forces of nature, such as winds or storms. examples: Play-Doh is the perfect toy. It's bright, it's squishy, it inspires creativity, and it pacifies toddlers on airplanes. "'With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the C.I.A. should have undertaken,' she wrote. ... The letter won over Mr. Warner and a handful of other Democrats. But liberal senators, and Republicans like Mr. McCain who adamantly oppose the use of torture, were not pacified."    — Nicholas Fandos, The New York Times, 17 May 2018 study it: Explain the meaning of "pacify" without saying "calm" or "soothe." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Gone are the days when I could pacify (someone) with a (simple thing)." Example: "Gone are the days when I could pacify Chloe with a few pets and a quick brushing of her fur. In her old age she's a diva, demanding more pets, longer brushings, hearty chin rubs, and a stream of fresh cold water from the sink." before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Quintessential TV Quotes! Each day, match the given vocabulary word to the quote that best illustrates it. From the previous issue: From Freaks and Geeks, which quote below illustrates a raison d'etre? Quote A: Jenna: You know what punkers don't do? Call themselves punkers. Quote B: Nick: Teachers want us to work, and I say, "Fine, I'll work. But you've gotta let me do the kind of work that I wanna do." And for me, it's my drum kit, man. This is my passion. This is the essence of who I am now. But before I had this, I was lost, too. You see what I'm saying? You need to find your reason for living. You've gotta find your big, gigantic drum kit. Quote C: Mr. Weir: I like how things are! I like eating the same things. You know why? Because those are the things I like! I like chicken. And I like pot roast. And, that's how I feel about you, Jean. Mrs. Weir: Oh, please. You like me like you like a pot roast? Mr. Weir: I love pot roast! Answer: In quote B, Nick's drum kit is his raison d'etre. Try this one today: From 30 Rock, which quote below illustrates a non sequitur? Quote A: Jack: Lemon, this is a part of our problem. I give you a simple managerial suggestion in a professional context and I get back the second half of a Judy Blume novel. Quote B: Tracy: Stop eating people's old French fries, pigeon; have some self respect! Don't you know you can fly? Quote C: Kenneth: I love how [coffee] makes me feel. It's like my heart is trying to hug my brain! review today's word: 1. One opposite of PACIFY is A. INSTRUCT. B. NEGLECT. C. PROVOKE. 2. The company trains its representatives to pacify customers by first _____. A. asking for their personal information in order to run a background check B. offering them a free sample without telling them about the shipping costs  C. acknowledging the issue and the pain it caused without encouraging them to vent Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C