verb
-
to pacify; soothe
-
to lessen the harshness or severity of
Other Word Forms
- mollifiable adjective
- mollification noun
- mollifier noun
- mollifyingly adverb
- remollify verb (used with object)
- unmollifiable adjective
- unmollifying adjective
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The government tried to mollify protesters by introducing a monthly cash subsidy of 10 million rials per person—about $7, though it goes further in Iran—and vowing to crack down on price gougers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
X in June sought to mollify the EU by adding a disclaimer to the checkmark.
From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has taken a cautious approach, seeking to mollify Trump.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025
The first of these groups includes Bannon and may be the trickiest to mollify.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2025
Apparently in an effort to mollify the inflamed press, he let photographers back into the barn.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
