irenic en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /-ˈɹɛ-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /-ˈɹɛ-/ (General-American)
- /aɪˈɹiːnɪk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /aɪˈɹinɪk/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Ancient Greek εἰρηνικός (eirēnikós, “characterized by peace, peaceful”) + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). Εἰρηνικός (Eirēnikós) is derived from εἰρήνη (eirḗnē, “peace”) (possibly from εἴρω (eírō, “to fasten together”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“(verb) to bind, tie together; (noun) thread”)), or εἴρω (eírō, “to say, speak”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *werh₁- (“to say, speak”))) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’).
Meanings
-
Promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes; conciliatory, non-confrontational, peaceful.
The philosophes contrasted their own irenic calls for tolerance with the church's historical record as the perennial source of cruelty and fanaticism.
2002, Colin Jones, “An Enlightening Age”, in The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon 1715–99, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 199:The current comity between the United States and China, which have little in common except a river of manufactured goods in one direction and dollars in the other, is a recent reminder of the irenic effects of trade.
2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 2012, →ISBN, page 343:The idea that the Jews of the region are not genetically distinct from other peoples of the area should be an irenic insight.
2001 November 30, Hywel Williams, “God the state-builder”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 May 2021:Plato and the Athenians must have felt almost as uncomfortable with Xenophon's irenic intervention as one feels at times in an argument when—just as the point in dispute, precisely by being brought to a head, begins to be interesting—a helpful third party kindly takes it upon himself to reconcile the disputants, to take the whole matter back to a triviality
1989 [1830 October 30], Søren Kierkegaard, translated by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, →ISBN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more irenic | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most irenic | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| eirenic | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
fratchy · logomachic · polemic · agonistic · strifeful · disputatious · belligerent · unirenic · contentious · quarrelsome · discordant · pettifogging · argumentative · unpacific · fratchety · debateful · contentious · litigious · quarrelous · disputative · bellicose · fractious · polemical · squabbly · rantankerous · bangsome · factious · disputatious
Deriveds
irenically · irenicism · irenicist · irenical · irenics · unirenic
Relateds
irenarch · irenology · eirenicon · irenicon · eirenarch · Irene · eirenical
Synonyms
anti-bellicist · irenic · irenical · dovelike · pacifist · peaceful · nonpolemic · irenical · unaggressive · pacific · non-violent · dovish · peaceable · nonpolemical · pacific · pacifistic
Translations (10)
nl irenisch (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · nl vredelievend (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · fr irénique (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · cmn 和平的 (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · sv irenisk (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · mk миро́творен (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · es irénico (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · cy heddychol (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · it irenico (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory) · bg миротворен (promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes — see also conciliatory)