Examples Word Origin
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. Show More
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 , noun mol·li·fi·er , noun mol·li·fy·ing·ly , adverb mol·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 , adjective un·mol·li·fied , adjective un·mol·li·fy·ing , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for mollify mitigate ,
placate ,
appease ,
assuage ,
relieve ,
lessen ,
quell ,
lull ,
alleviate ,
pacify ,
ameliorate ,
allay ,
blunt ,
temper ,
lighten ,
compose ,
moderate ,
conciliate ,
ease ,
dulcify Examples from the Web for mollify Contemporary Examples of mollify Meanwhile, on Friday, Holder made a round of calls to Capitol Hill in an attempt to mollify concerned lawmakers.
The appointments of Al-Sisi and Mekki are no doubt intended to mollify such concerns.
He was actually soft as mush, straining to mollify Hispanics without roiling his own nativist base.
Obama moved to mollify them, although how well it worked is unclear; both Dunn and Romer have since left the administration.
And perhaps most important, to deflect criticism and mollify opponents with politesse and wit.
Historical Examples of mollify At first I had been suspicious; it might have been put on to mollify me.
Romance Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
The boys who bully him will mollify toward him and accept his pie and sweetmeats.
Conscious they deserved a scolding, they sent Josephine down first to mollify .
The boys who bully him will mollify towards him, and accept his pie and sweetmeats.
We concluded the best policy, would be to prepare a feast to mollify them.
British Dictionary definitions for mollify verb -fies , -fying or -fied (tr) to pacify; soothe to lessen the harshness or severity of Show More
Derived Forms mollifiable , adjective mollification , noun mollifier , 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
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Word Origin and History for 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
