mollify

[ mol-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈmɒl əˌfaɪ /

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See synonyms for: mollify / mollified / mollifying / mollification 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.

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Origin of mollify

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French mollifier, from Late Latin mollificāre, equivalent to Latin molli(s) “soft” + -ficāre -fy

OTHER WORDS FROM mollify

mol·li·fi·ca·tion

[mol-uh-fi-key-shuhn], /ˌmɒl ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, 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·fy·ing, adjective

Words nearby mollify

Mollet, Moll Flanders, Mollie, Mollier diagram, mollified, mollify, mollisol, mollities, mollusc, Mollusca, molluscoid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use mollify in a sentence

To mollify Knight, Nelson occasionally wore a lab coat over her clothes, which he viewed as necessary because, he said, “I don’t think it’s good for me to see her wearing things that accentuate her body.”
How U.S. Sexual-Harassment Law Encourages a Culture of Victim Blaming|Deborah Tuerkheimer|October 5, 2021|Time
Last year ProPublica wrote about the world of work-at-home customer service, spotlighting a largely unseen industry that helps brand-name companies shed labor costs by outsourcing the task of mollifying unhappy customers.
“We’re Not Allowed to Hang Up”: The Harsh Reality of Working in Customer Service|by Ariana Tobin, Ken Armstrong and Justin Elliott, illustrations by Laila Milevski|July 21, 2021|ProPublica
For $62,500, the county could move the statue and just maybe satisfy — or at least mollify — all sides.
The Confederacy’s final resting place|Marc Fisher|May 30, 2021|Washington Post
The Buccaneers’ ability to recruit and mollify Brady while winning a championship illustrated a new line teams may have to straddle.
As Aaron Rodgers saga shows, keeping a franchise QB happy is almost as important as finding one|Adam Kilgore|May 6, 2021|Washington Post

Other students argue that the discovery of remains cannot fully mollify public consciousness surrounding the case.
On U.VA Campus, Grief Mixes With Relief After Discovery of Body|Eric Leimkuhler|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, on Friday, Holder made a round of calls to Capitol Hill in an attempt to mollify concerned lawmakers.
Holder’s Regrets and Repairs|Daniel Klaidman|May 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The appointments of Al-Sisi and Mekki are no doubt intended to mollify such concerns.
Is Morsy Staging or Reversing a Coup?|Hussein Ibish|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was actually soft as mush, straining to mollify Hispanics without roiling his own nativist base.
Immigration Could Sink Mitt Romney Regardless of Supreme Court Rulings|Robert Shrum|June 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So Obama was sending out Biden to further mollify the gay community without having to actually take a stand himself.
Democrats Hit Romney on Marriage|Howard Kurtz|May 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile the Athenian and Rhodian envoys got hold of the consul and tried by ingenious arguments to mollify his anger.
The Histories of Polybius, Vol. II (of 2)|Polybius
This, of course, did not tend to mollify the spirit of the man to whom it was written, or to make him gracious towards his wife.
The Prime Minister|Anthony Trollope
This treatise was presented to Prince Maurice; but it did not mollify the indignation he had conceived against the Remonstrants.
The Life of the Truly Eminent and Learned Hugo Grotius|Jean Lvesque de Burigny
We shall see if this will mollify the tone of the Times which ill-treated poor Lord Grey shamefully yesterday morning.
Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.1/3, 1831-1835|Dorothy Duchesse de Dino
His explanation that he was Bellerophon, the stick Pegasus, and the cats the three heads of the Chimra failed to mollify me.
Mothering on Perilous|Lucy S. Furman

British Dictionary definitions for mollify

mollify

/ (ˈmɒlɪˌfaɪ) /

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

to pacify; soothe

to lessen the harshness or severity of

Derived forms of mollify

mollifiable, 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

mollify

Origin of mollify

OTHER WORDS FROM mollify

Words nearby mollify

Words related to mollify

How to use mollify in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mollify

Derived forms of mollify

Word Origin for mollify