mollify

[ mol-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈmɒl əˌfaɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mollify ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), mol·li·fied, mol·li·fy·ing.

to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease.

to mitigate or reduce; soften: to mollify one's demands.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

mollet, guy, mollie, mollier diagram, mollification, mollified, mollification, mollisol, mollities, mollusc, mollusca, molluscan

Origin of mollify

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French mollifier < Late Latin mollificāre, equivalent to Latin molli(s) soft + -ficāre -fy

Related forms

mol·li·fi·ca·tion, nounmol·li·fi·er, nounmol·li·fy·ing·ly, adverbmol·li·fi·a·ble, adjective

re·mol·li·fy, verb (used with object), re·mol·li·fied, re·mol·li·fy·ing.un·mol·li·fi·a·ble, adjectiveun·mol·li·fied, adjectiveun·mol·li·fy·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mollification

I doubt not it failed to contribute to a mollification of their painful forebodings.
A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital|John Beauchamp Jones

British Dictionary definitions for mollification

mollify

/ (ˈmɒlɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to pacify; soothe

to lessen the harshness or severity of

Derived Formsmollifiable, adjectivemollification, nounmollifier, noun

Word Origin for mollify

C15: from Old French mollifier, via Late Latin, from Latin mollis soft + facere to make

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mollification (1 of 2)

mollification

late 14c., from Old French mollificacion (Modern French mollification), from Medieval Latin mollificationem (nominative mollificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of mollificare (see mollify).

Word Origin and History for mollification (1 of 2)

mollify

late 14c., "to soften (a substance)," from Old French mollifier or directly from Late Latin mollificare "make soft, mollify" from mollificus "softening," from Latin mollis "soft" (see melt (v.)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Transferred sense of "soften in temper, appease, pacify" is recorded from early 15c. Related: Mollified; mollifying.