Mollify
[mä-lə-ˌfī]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: Middle English, mid 14th century
1.
To appease or pacify
2.
To assuage anger or anxiety
3.
To reduce harshness or severity
Examples of Mollify in a sentence
"Security tried to mollify the restless crowd with no luck."
"The doctor did her best to mollify my pain, which I appreciated."
About Mollify
The word mollify lends itself to a mathematical principle known as a mollifier. A mollifier is a 'smooth function' used to create sequences of other smooth functions via convolution. In essence, a mollifier mollifies these functions. If you have no idea what any of that means in mathematical terms, don't worry. You're not alone.
Did you Know?
Though the literal meaning of mollify still is valid, it's rarely used to describe softening a blanket or butter.
