Mollify

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Mollify \Mol"li*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Mollified}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Mollifying}.] [F. mollifier, L. mollificare; mollis
     soft + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See {Enmollient}, {Moil},
     v. t., and {-fy}.]
     1. To soften; to make tender; to reduce the hardness,
        harshness, or asperity of; to qualify; as, to mollify the


        ground.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              With sweet science mollified their stubborn hearts.
                                                    --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To assuage, as pain or irritation, to appease, as excited
        feeling or passion; to pacify; to calm.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  mollify
       v 1: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of;
            "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: {pacify},
             {lenify}, {conciliate}, {assuage}, {appease}, {placate},
             {gentle}, {gruntle}]
       2: make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding
          something else; moderate; "she tempered her criticism"
          [syn: {temper}, {season}]
       3: make less rigid or softer
       [also: {mollified}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  89 Moby Thesaurus words for "mollify":
     abate, allay, alleviate, anesthetize, appease, assuage, benumb,
     calm, calm down, compose, conciliate, cool, cradle, cushion,
     deaden, deaden the pain, decrease, defuse, diminish, dulcify, dull,
     ease, ease matters, even out, fluff, foment, gentle, give relief,
     hush, knead, laxate, lay, lay the dust, lessen, lighten, limber,
     limber up, loosen, lull, mash, massage, mellow, milden, mitigate,
     numb, pacify, pad, palliate, placate, plump, poultice,
     pour balm into, pour balm on, pour oil on, propitiate, pulp, quell,
     quiet, reduce, relax, relieve, rest, rock, rock to sleep, salve,
     shake up, slacken, slake, smash, smooth, smooth down, smooth over,
     smoothen, soften, soften up, soothe, squash, stabilize, steady,
     still, stupe, subdue, supple, sweeten, temper, tenderize,
     tone down, tranquilize, tune down