Word 27: 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.”
单词27:MOLLIFY (MAHL-uh-fy)
使平静:使平静，安抚，安抚，在感情或语气上软化，使不那么严厉或严厉:“没有什么能平息他的愤怒。”
Mollify来自拉丁语mollis(软的)和facere(使)，字面意思是“使柔软”。同样来自拉丁语mollis，柔软，这个词是emollient (i-MAHL-yint)。作为形容词，emollient意为软化、舒缓、安抚;作为名词，它指的是软化或舒缓剂，如皮肤乳液或面霜。
动词to mollify曾经字面意思是使变软或变嫩，如使肉变软，使它变嫩。这个意思现在已经过时了，mollify现在被用来指在感情或语气上软化，平静，安抚，使不那么严厉或严厉:“工会领导人决定缓和他们的要求”;“一个好的经理应该善于平息可能损害士气的冲突”;“原告律师说，只有100万美元的和解才能安抚她的当事人”;“他怒不可遏，她说什么也安抚不了他。”
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