Mollifying

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

  32 Moby Thesaurus words for "mollifying":
     appeasing, calming, conciliatory, cradling, demulcent, dreamy,
     drowsy, easing, emollient, gentling, hushing, irenic, loosening,
     lulling, pacific, pacificatory, pacifying, placative, placatory,
     propitiative, propitiatory, quietening, reconciliatory, relaxing,
     restful, rocking, softening, soothful, soothing, stilling,
     subduing, tranquilizing