olive branches
Symbols of reconciliation
Olive branches are gestures of peace or reconciliation, from the ancient symbol of an olive branch signifying the end of conflict.
To extend an olive branch is to make an overture toward ending a dispute: After months of silence, she extended an olive branch by inviting him to dinner.
The phrase almost always appears in this figurative sense rather than referring to actual tree branches.
- doveGentle cooing bird
- compromisesSettlements through mutual concession
- gestureCommunicative body movement
- making amendsCompensating for wrongdoing
- peaceFreedom from disturbance
truce · peace offering · goodwill gesture · symbol · nonviolence · white flag · reconciliation · coexistence · armistice · Gethsemane · ancient Greece · ceasefires · cultural diplomacy · conflict resolution · peaceful resolution · Pax Romana · friendship · offer
- coin imageryeagles, portraits, crowns, wreaths, shields
- French Countryarmoire, toile, lavender, terra cotta, distressed finish
- peace eventspeace day, peace rallies, peace marches, peace vigils, peace treaties
- anti-nuclearban the bomb, disarmament, nonproliferation, nuclear freeze, nuclear-free zones
- sacred treessacred trees, world tree, sacred oak, sacred tree, tree of life
- flowersroses, flower, tulips, daisies, lilies
olive branchesdeclarations of war
Formal announcements initiating hostilities
acts of war · provocations · threats · saber-rattling · acts of aggression
olive branchesslaps in the face
Sudden shocking insults
cold shoulders · rebuffs · middle fingers · gauntlets · snubs
olive branchesultimatums
Final non-negotiable demands
sanctions · embargoes · blockades · expulsions · broken treaties
branch, olive, olive oil, olives, oleic, oleaginous, olive tree