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.
Official L.A., anxious to mollify angry and frightened Angelenos, dropped the hammer on a plant near downtown L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
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
For tech companies and startups that had their business models walloped by high interest rates, it makes sense to make grandiose proclamations about A.I. that will mollify your investors.
From Slate • May 17, 2024
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.
