mollify

verb mol·li·fy \ ˈmä-lə-ˌfī \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: mollify in a Sentence

Editor's Note: The Difference Between mollify, appease. and placate

Definition of mollify

mollified; mollifying

transitive verb

1 : to soothe in temper or disposition : appease

mollified the staff with a raise

2 : to reduce the rigidity of : soften

Shaving cream mollifies the beard.

3 : to reduce in intensity : assuage, temper

Time mollified his anger.

intransitive verb

archaic : soften, relent

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mollification

play \ˌmä-lə-fə-ˈkā-shən\ noun

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Examples of mollify in a Sentence

He tried to mollify his critics with an apology.
All attempts to mollify the extremists have failed.
The landlord fixed the heat, but the tenants still were not mollified.

Recent Examples of mollify from the Web

Cohen, who used to run big record labels, now works for YouTube, which just introduced a new ad-free subscription service in the hope of mollifying the labels.

— recode staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Mark Zuckerberg cherry-picked the questions he answered for the EU Parliament," 23 May 2018
Trump -- who exacerbated the crisis with a weekend of rampant tweeting -- may be mollified for now by Rosenstein's move.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "Trump's norm-breaking is leading to a constitutional fight," 22 May 2018
Xi gave no details on how those conditions might change, leaving it unclear whether that might mollify Washington.

— BostonGlobe.com, "China appears to offer United States trade concessions," 11 Apr. 2018
Xi gave no details on how those conditions might change, leaving it unclear whether that might mollify Washington.

— joe mcdonald and gillian wong, chicagotribune.com, "China's president offers U.S. possible trade concessions," 10 Apr. 2018
But European leaders have been working hard to mollify Tehran -- UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday to assure him of her support for the deal.

— ben westcott, sara mazloumsaki and samantha beech, CNN, "Iranian Foreign Minister visits Russia and China to try to save nuclear deal," 14 May 2018
Temperatures aren't going to suddenly stop increasing, so leaders in the public and private sectors have focused on ways to mollify the urban heat island effect.

— joshua bowling, azcentral, "LA installs off-white streets to beat heat — could Phoenix be next?," 30 Mar. 2018
State workers, who also suffer from low pay and from PEIA’s shortcomings, aren’t mollified either: WV Public Workers Union UE Local 170 responds to Justice's 3 percent raise proposal.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "West Virginia’s teachers are skeptical of a deal to end a five-day walkout.," 28 Feb. 2018
Despite a massive anti-government rally in Malaysia's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, in 2015, rural Malays are more concerned with bread-and-butter issues and can be mollified by promises of government handouts.

— Fox News, "Once seen as reformer, Malaysia leader faces legitimacy test," 5 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mollify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Difference Between mollify, appease. and placate

Mollify, pacify, appease, and placate all mean "to ease the anger or disturbance of," although each implies a slightly different way of pouring oil on troubled waters. Pacify suggests the restoration of a calm or peaceful state, while appease implies the quieting of insistent demands by making concessions; you can appease appetites and desires as well as persons. Placate is similar to appease, but it often indicates a more complete transformation of bitterness to goodwill. Mollify, with its root in Latin mollis, meaning "soft," implies soothing hurt feelings or anger.

Origin and Etymology of mollify

Middle English mollifien, from Middle French mollifier, from Late Latin mollificare, from Latin mollis soft; akin to Greek amaldynein to soften, Sanskrit mṛdu soft, and probably to Greek malakos soft, amblys dull, Old English meltan to melt

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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