mollify
11 synonyms and 4 antonyms for mollify, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To make someone's worry or distress feel less intense, or to offer them comfort.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb
To make someone's worry or distress feel less intense, or to offer them comfort.
“Her calm explanation helped mollify their concerns.”
2. verb
To calm someone down when they are angry and win back their favour.
“He tried to mollify the angry customer.”
Opposites
Etymology
Mollify comes from Middle English mollifien, from Late Latin mollificō, from Latin mollis (“soft”). By surface analysis it can also be seen as Latin moll- plus -ify.
Full origin of mollify →