Word of the day: MOLLIFY (MAHL-uh-fy) – To calm, soothe, pacify, appease, soften in feeling or tone, make less harsh or severe: “Nothing mollified his anger.” Mollify comes from the Latin mollis, soft, and facere, to make, and means literally “to make soft.” Also from the Latin mollis, soft, comes the word emollient (i-MAHL-yint). As an adjective, emollient means softening, soothing, mollifying; as a noun it means a softening or soothing agent, such as a lotion or cream for the skin. The verb to mollify once meant literally to make soft or tender, as to mollify meat, tenderize it. That sense is now obsolete and mollify today is used to mean to soften in feeling or tone, calm, soothe, make less harsh or severe: “The union leaders decided to mollify their demands”; “A good manager should be adept at mollifying conflicts that can damage morale”; “The plaintiff’s attorney said that only a million-dollar settlement would mollify her client"; "He was furious, and nothing she said mollified him.” - Elster, Charles Harrington (2009-02-04). Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:56:26 +0000
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