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
Josh Holder, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Chinese Premier Li Qiang struck a conciliatory tone during a meeting with business leaders and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a strong supporter of President Trump, who is the first member of Congress to visit Beijing since Trump took office in January.
—Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Trump’s officials have been signaling a more conciliatory tone in recent interviews.
—Selina Wang, ABC News, 24 Mar. 2025
Why bother with conciliatory efforts when Shah can merely stroll metres from ICC headquarters in Dubai to watch his beloved country attempt to win a tournament that was merely resurrected to extract more money from Indian broadcasters.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conciliatory
Cite this Entry
“Conciliatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conciliatory. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share