mollify
[ mol-uh-fahy ]
/ ˈmɒl əˌfaɪ /
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
mitigate, placate, appease, assuage, relieve, lessen, quell, lull, alleviate, pacify, ameliorate, allay, blunt, temper, lighten, compose, moderate, conciliate, ease, dulcify
Nearby words
- mollet, guy,
- mollie,
- mollier diagram,
- mollification,
- mollified,
- 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for mollify
mollify
/ (ˈmɒlɪˌfaɪ) /
verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)
to pacify; soothe
to lessen the harshness or severity of
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
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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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper