mollify
MOL-uh-fye
/ˈmɒlɪfaɪ/
To appease the anger or anxiety of someone; to reduce the severity of something.
Literally means 'to make soft'. It implies taking the 'hard edge' off someone's anger or a harsh situation.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'mollificare'. Think of other 'moll-' words: a 'mollusk' has a soft body, and an 'emollient' makes your skin soft. Mollifying someone is like applying a mental lotion to their irritation.
Word relationships
- assuage: Assuage is often used for feelings like guilt or hunger, while mollify is almost always for anger.
- exacerbate: Exacerbate means to make a problem or bad feeling worse/harder.
Commonly confused with
- modify: Modify means to change; mollify means to soften.
Word family
- mollification (noun): The softening of a person's temper.
Collocations
- mollify his temper
- mollify the public
- mollify concerns
Example sentences
- "Nature had not intended to mollify the hardship of the climate for the early settlers." Describing a character's reaction in a novel.
Memory hook
Mollify sounds like 'Molly-fies'—imagine a kind person named Molly softening a hard situation. Mollify = Make soft.
When not to use
Rarely used in casual conversation; it sounds quite academic.
Fun facts
- In old medicine, 'mollifying' referred to the softening of a tumor or a hard swelling.
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