mollify
MOL-uh-fyeverbMeaning to soften someone’s anger
Memory hook MOLLY-fy: Molly makes him MELLOW. Grandpa Gus is grumbling until little Molly brings him a warm cookie and a hug. His anger softens: Molly mollifies him.
A free dessert mollified the diner whose soup had come out cold.
In context The neighbor was furious about the broken window until the boys offered to pay for it from their savings; the offer mollified him, and he even helped them find the ball.
Similar placate, pacify, soften, sweeten
Opposite anger, enrage, provoke
From Late Latin mollificare, “to make soft”: mollis (soft) + facere (to make).