Word of the Day

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

mollify

\MOL-uh-fy\ , transitive verb;

To pacify; to soothe or calm in temper or disposition.

To reduce in intensity; to temper.

To soften; to reduce the rigidity of.

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Quotes:

One hundred seventeen and a half pesos! Did you think you could mollify me with that amount, Philip V?

-- Ana Teresa Torres, Doña Inés vs. Oblivion

M. Chirac kept coming back with different calculations as he tried to mollify protesters far more threatening than the demonstrators who had brought Nice to a standstill at the start of the summit.

-- "Welcome to the late late show", Times (London), December 12, 2000

His government may have appeared to have changed its tone, if not its message, over the weekend to mollify public concern.

-- Kevin O'Sullivan, "Marks & Spencer says No to GM food", Irish Times, March 16, 1999

The ground grew mollified, barrels brimmed, puddles ponded, rivers started to prowl.

-- Tibor Fischer, The Collector Collector

Origin:

Mollify comes from Middle French mollifier, ultimately from Latin mollis, "soft."