propitiatory

comparative more propitiatory · superlative most propitiatory

1. Intended to propitiate, reconcile, expiate or appease; conciliatory.

   "I beg your pardon, Sir," said Mr. Carker, riding up, with his most propitiatory smile. "I hope you are not hurt?”

   1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “A Trifle of Management by Mr. Carker the Manager”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 224

   4 more examples

   Hecatombs were early substituted for single victims; and, to render the worship still more propitiatory, these were soon exchanged for human sacrifices.

   1831, Timothy Dwight, Theology Explained and Defended, in a Series of Sermons, page 493

   So that no words can be more propitiatory; and it is to be observed, that, while they are spoken, the Minister is holding the consecrated elements in his hand, tendering them at the same time to God, and to the communicants.

   1838, Tracts for the Times, Volume 4: 1836-7, page 326

   “Come, come, Olga,” urged the man, in propitiatory tones; “I but ask a half dozen words with you. I shall not harm you, nor shall I enter your cabin; but I cannot shout my message through the door.”

   1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Forging Bonds of Hate and ——?”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, page 20

   The weak branded those they feared evil, and praised the ‘propitiatory’ qualities natural to men like themselves who were incapable of aggression.[…]Those who cultivate humility and the other propitiatory virtues to cloak their weakness nourish an envious resentment against those stronger than themselves.

   1978, Philippa Foot, “Nietzsche: The Revaluation of Values”, in Virtues and Vices and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy, University of California Press, published 1981, page 82

   Synonyms: propitiary