settle down; bring to heel(Aly19); silence(Aly19); placate(Aly19); control(linton); assuage(Eric S. Edelman, who was undersecretary of defense under Mr. Bush, said American leaders overestimated their ability to assuage Mr. Putin's anger about the West. There has been a persistent tendency on the part of U.S. presidents and Western leaders more broadly to see the sense of grievance as a background condition that could be modulated by consideration of Russian national interests, he said. In fact, those efforts have been invariably taken as weakness. 4uzhoj); suppress(feelings); becalm; quell(Abysslooker); calm(kee46); quiet; pacify; stop