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Looking for a word that means "overly conciliatory"

English Language & Usage Asked by user86530 on July 7, 2021

Taking an Ethics class, and in a unit of Aristotelean Virtue ethics, we are covering "The Mean."

Is there a word that means roughly, "seeking middle ground for middle ground’s sake; compromising to a fault?" Seeking a middle ground or happy medium not because it is optimal or virtuous to do so, but just because it is the midpoint between two extremes of a certain behavior?

Thank you!

5 Answers

It is not an exact match, but an accommodationist is pretty close:

A person who seeks compromise with an opposing point of view, typically a political one.
Lexico

As noted, the word has a political connotation, and is also a term used to describe a judicial interpretation of how government should interact with religion.

... Accommodationists espouse the view that "religious individuals, and/or religious entities may be accommodated by government in regard to such things as free exercise rights, access to government programs and facilities, and religious expression."
Wikipedia

Correct answer by jxh on July 7, 2021

Appeasing, while nominally neutral, can carry the connotation you mention, that of conciliation just for the sake of ending discussion.

M/W has:

(1) pacify, conciliate, especially : to make concessions to (someone, such as an aggressor or a critic) often at the sacrifice of principles

Answered by Jim Mack on July 7, 2021

This reminds me of the Confucius approach to the world called the Doctrine of the (Golden) Mean (Zhong Yong). So you could say that someone is a subscriber of the Golden Mean. You could read more about it here: The Golden Mean

Answered by soysoymilk on July 7, 2021

Probably the closest you can get is temperate

2 : marked by moderation: such as a : keeping or held within limits : not extreme or excessive : mild b : moderate in indulgence of appetite or desire c : moderate in the use of alcoholic beverages d : marked by an absence or avoidance of extravagance, violence, or extreme partisanship

This ties in with Aristotelian virtue ethics: Aristotle argues that temperance is the mean concerned with pleasure and pain. Actions, then, are called just and temperate when they are such as the just or the temperate man would do.

Answered by GArthurBrown on July 7, 2021

I like temperate as well, but will add centrist to the list. Temperate, to me, implies a character trait, while centrist seems more focused on the center in an active or political sense.

Answered by wordragon on July 7, 2021

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