v.
Pronunciation: ' mä-l ə - ˌ f ī
Function: verb
Inflected Form: -fied ; -fy · ing
Etymology: Middle English mollifien, from Middle French mollifier, from Late Latin mollificare, from Latin mollis soft; akin to Greek amaldynein to soften, Sanskrit m ṛ du soft, and probably to Greek malakos soft, amblys dull, Old English meltan to melt
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1 : to soothe in temper or disposition : APPEASE < mollified the staff with a raise>
2 : to reduce the rigidity of : SOFTEN
3 : to reduce in intensity : ASSUAGE , TEMPER
intransitive verb archaic : SOFTEN , RELENT
synonyms see PACIFY
– mol · li · fi · ca · tion \ ˌ mä-l ə -f ə - ' k ā -sh ə n \ noun