Words / C2

MOL-if-eye/ˈmɒlɪfaɪ/

To mollify is to make someone less angry (formal): mollify critics, a gesture meant to mollify. Calm and soothe are everyday; appease can mean buy off. Molten is melted metal — a lookalike. Do not mollify a dataset.

Meaning

To make someone less angry or upset (formal).

Examples

• “A partial refund mollified the cohort; it did not fix the timetable.”
• “A partial refund mollified the cohort; the broken timetable stayed broken.”
• “Soothe a child; mollify an angry committee. Appease can smell of surrender. Mix-up: molten (melted).”

Good to know

Soften someone’s anger (formal). Everyday: calm / soothe. Darker cousin: appease. Mix-up: molten. You mollify people, not spreadsheets.

Near in meaning

soothe

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