peaceable

American  

[pee-suh-buhl] / ˈpi sə bəl /

adjective

1. inclined or disposed to avoid strife or dissension; not argumentative or hostile: a peaceable disposition.

   a peaceable person;

   a peaceable disposition.

   Synonyms:

   pacifist, friendly, amicable

   Antonyms:

   hostile, quarrelsome

2. peaceful; tranquil.

   in peaceable periods;

   a peaceable adjustment of a dispute.

---

peaceable British  

/ ˈpiːsəbəl /

adjective

1. inclined towards peace

2. tranquil; calm

---

Other Word Forms

• peaceableness noun
• peaceably adverb
• unpeaceable adjective
• unpeaceably adverb

Etymology

Origin of peaceable

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pesible, from Middle French paisible; peace, -able

Explanation

Someone or something that is peaceable tends to avoid conflict. A peaceable demonstration would most likely involve lots of protest banners instead of angry rioters. A peaceable group of people finds non-violent ways to resolve disagreements — you could call such a group a peaceable society. This adjective is less common than the closely related peaceful. Both words come from the Old French pais, or "peace," and its Latin root pacem, "treaty of peace" or "absence of war."

Example Sentences

“This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.”

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Military comedies have a long and relatively peaceable history on screens small and large — Fred Astaire, Bob Hope, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis and Bill Murray all made them.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2024

She is adopted by animals who have formed a peaceable kingdom in a city that humans have left behind.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2023

Black activist Brittany Martin was, for instance, convicted in 2022 of "breaching the peace" for shouting in officers' faces during a peaceable assembly in Sumter, South Carolina, in 2020.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2023

Another 37,380 visitors had entered using passes, bringing the total admission for the day to 751,026, more people than had attended any single day of any peaceable event in history.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson