Select the correct antonym for the word: PLACATE
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Provoke
Placate means to make someone less angry by doing or saying something to please them. Its antonym is provoke.
Example: The shopkeeper offered a discount to placate the angry customer.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Provoke (answer) | to make someone angry deliberately, or to stir up a strong reaction (placating calms anger, and provoking causes it) | Do not provoke the dog by pulling its tail. |
| (2) Appease | to calm someone by giving them what they want (a synonym of placate) | The government tried to appease the protesters with promises. |
| (3) Hate | to dislike intensely (it is a feeling, not the act of making someone angry) | I hate waiting in long queues. |
| (4) Nullify | to make something legally invalid or to cancel its effect (it has no link with calming or angering) | The court nullified the contract. |
| Synonyms of placate: appease, pacify, soothe, mollify Antonyms of placate: provoke, enrage, anger, antagonise Also asked in CUET (UG): placate – 23-05-2025 Slot 1, 15-05-2025 Slot 2, 15-05-2024 Slot 1 appease – 24-05-2026 Slot 1, 09-06-2023 Slot 1, 16-09-2022 Slot 1 |