pacify
/ˈpæsɪfaɪ/verb
pacify is spelled P-A-C-I-F-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pacify means “To bring peace to (a place or situation), by ending (or suppressing) war, fighting, violence, anger or agitation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pacify?
| Letters | 6: P-A-C-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pacify?
Pacify appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pacify?
- US /ˈpæsɪfaɪ/
- US /ˈpæsəfaɪ/
Pacify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pacify.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pacify
Sounds like: passify (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of pacify
- pacifies present, singular, he/she/it
- pacifying participle, present
- pacified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pacify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To bring peace to (a place or situation), by ending (or suppressing) war, fighting, violence, anger or agitation.
Near-synonyms: peacify, repacify, allay, locarnize
- 2
To mollify, placate or soothe (someone or something).
- 3
To appease (someone).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pacify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pacifier |
| German | befrieden , friedlich stimmen |
| Portuguese | pacificar, apaziguar |
| Spanish | pacificar, apaciguar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pacify come from?
From Middle French pacifier, from Latin pāx (“peace”) + faciō (“to do, make”). Cognate with pay and peacify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).