mollify

Etymology

From Middle English mollifien, from Late Latin mollificō, from Latin mollis (“soft”).

verb

1. To ease a burden, particularly worry; make less painful; to comfort.
   All that charity can do where injustice exists is here and there to somewhat mollify the effects of injustice. 1893, Henry George, The Condition of Labor: An Open Letter to Pope Leo XIII,, page 104
   The draft Charter School Handbook issued in November 1994 sought to mollify concerns over teacher quality, if not ATA membership, by requiring teacher certification. 1997, A Government Reinvented: A Study of Alberta's Deficit Elimination Program,, page 408
2. To appease (anger), pacify, gain the good will of.
   Although this invitation was accompanied with a curtsey that might have softened the heart of a church-warden, it by no means mollified the beadle. 1867, Charles Dickens, chapter 2, in Oliver Twist
   The angry goat was quite mollified by the respectful tone in which he was addressed. 1916, L. Frank Baum, chapter 5, in Rinkitink in Oz
   There were no honeyed words from Dr. Beeching to mollify Scottish feeling on rail service closures during his one-day visit in May. 1964 July, “News and Comment: Dr. B. beards Scots in their lair”, in Modern Railways, page 15
   But these answers did not mollify Grassley. Specifically, he objected to Abedin’s becoming an S.G.E., because he believed she provided no irreplaceable expertise and therefore her designation as one had violated Congress’s intent when it created the program, in 1962. January 31 2016, “Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon or Her Next Big Problem?”, in Vanity Fair, retrieved 2016-01-21
3. To soften; to make tender
   Nor is it any more difficulty for him to mollifie what is hard, then it is to harden what is so soft and fluid as the Aire. 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book III, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 113
   By thy kindness thou wilt melt and mollify his spirit towards thee, as hardest metals are melted by coals of fire … 1724, William Burkitt, Expository Notes, with Practical Observations on the New Testament,, page 102