conciliatory
adjective
Colin DeppenDan Balz
Did you know?
If you are conciliatory towards someone, you're trying to win that person over to your side. The verb conciliate was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb conciliare, meaning "to assemble, unite, or win over." Conciliare, in turn, comes from Latin concilium, meaning "assembly" or "council." Conciliatory, which appeared in English a bit later in the 16th century, also traces back to conciliare. Another word that has conciliare as a root is reconcile, the earliest meaning of which is "to restore to friendship or harmony."
Examples of conciliatory in a Sentence
arkansasonline.com, 4 July 2025
Democratic leaders have come under criticism from within, some for pushing the party too far left, and others for appearing too conciliatory toward Trump, and a number who have felt disillusioned with its agenda have left the party entirely to either identify as independent or as a Republican.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
While Pelkey may have spent his final moments upset, his AI likeness struck a conciliatory tone in court last week.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 8 May 2025
And there is very little reason for Israel or the U.S. to think that a reconstituted Iran will become more conciliatory toward either country once the war ends.
—Shervin Malekzadeh, Mercury News, 26 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Conciliatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conciliatory. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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