Conciliate — A Vocabulary Story
Kidus the Peacemaker
Kidus loved Saturday football in the park, but this Saturday nobody was playing. His two best friends, Amara and Tom, stood back to back with their arms crossed, refusing to look at each other.
"He said my goal didn't count!" said Amara.
"It hit the jumper post!" said Tom. "Jumper posts count!"
Kidus sighed. If nobody could conciliate these two, the match was finished before it had started. Luckily, conciliation was Kidus's speciality. Last month he'd stopped his big sister Selam and their cousin arguing about whose turn it was on the swing by pushing them both at the same time, one with each arm, until his shoulders ached.
Conciliate means to make someone less angry or more friendly, especially by pleasing them; to bring together people who disagree so they can settle their differences; to gain goodwill or support through friendly actions.
He tried a conciliatory smile first. Nothing. Tom's frown could have curdled milk.
Then Kidus had an idea. He picked up the ball, balanced it on his head, and wobbled between them like a very serious waiter.
"New rule," he announced. "Any goal that hits the jumper counts as HALF a goal. Amara's team gets half a goal. Tom's team gets to take the next kick-off. Everybody wins slightly."
Amara's mouth twitched. Tom snorted, then covered it with a cough.
"Half a goal is silly," said Tom.
"Extremely silly," agreed Amara. "Fine. Deal."
They shook hands, and Kidus dropped the ball with a satisfied bounce. Conciliating people was hard work, but somebody had to do it.
By full time, the score was seven and a half to six, and nobody argued about it even once.
Word Definition
conciliate
meaning
to make someone less angry or more friendly, especially by pleasing them; to bring together people who disagree so they can settle their differences; to gain goodwill or support through friendly actions
synonyms
appease · pacify · placate · mollify · reconcile
antonyms
provoke · antagonise
example sentence
The manager tried to conciliate the furious customers.