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mollify

[mol-uh-fahy]
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verb (used with object), mol·li·fied, mol·li·fy·ing.
  1. to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease.
  2. to mitigate or reduce; soften: to mollify one's demands.
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Origin of mollify

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French mollifier < Late Latin mollificāre, equivalent to Latin molli(s) soft + -ficāre -fy
Related formsmol·li·fi·ca·tion, nounmol·li·fi·er, nounmol·li·fy·ing·ly, adverbmol·li·fi·a·ble, adjectivere·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. 2018

Examples from the Web for mollified

Historical Examples

  • Nor was he to be mollified until the following day brought him his revenge.

    Captain Blood

    Rafael Sabatini

  • "It may be anything," uttered Jorgenson, morosely, but as it were in a mollified tone.

    The Rescue

    Joseph Conrad

  • "I see that you are a feather-headed kitten," said Elinor, not at all mollified.

    Miss Pat at School

    Pemberton Ginther

  • He was mollified, too, by the defiance of menials and quick submission to himself.

    Danger! and Other Stories

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • And the Major was mollified at once, the two (as I said) being old friends.

    Two Sides of the Face

    Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for mollified

mollify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)
  1. to pacify; soothe
  2. to lessen the harshness or severity of
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Derived Formsmollifiable, adjectivemollification, nounmollifier, noun

Word Origin

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 mollified

adj.

1620s, past participle adjective from mollify.

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mollify

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper