mollify
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin molliō (“soften, calm”), from mollis (“soft”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
mollify (third-person singular simple present mollifies, present participle mollifying, simple past and past participle mollified)
- To ease a burden; make less painful; to comfort
- To appease, pacify, gain the good will of.
- 1867, Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, chapter 2:
- Although this invitation was accompanied with a curtsey that might have softened the heart of a church-warden, it by no means mollified the beadle.
- 1916, L. Frank Baum, Rinkitink in Oz, chapter 5:
- The angry goat was quite mollified by the respectful tone in which he was addressed.
- 1867, Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, chapter 2:
- To soften; to make tender
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book III, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 113:
- "Nor is it any more difficulty for him to mollifie what is hard, then it is to harden what is so soft and fluid as the Aire."
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book III, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 113:
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to ease a burden
|
