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Glite Dictionary
🕊️ A peacemaker 🧴 A soothing cream 💬 A softening word
mollifier

mollifier

9.5
A word used to make a statement sound less harsh
  • noun
  • /ˈmɒlɪfaɪər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : eufemismo
  • The word 'somewhat' acted as a mollifier in her otherwise blunt comment.

Examples

  • Adding a mollifier can help maintain politeness in sensitive discussions.

  • Writers often use a mollifier to make criticism sound less harsh.

  • Using a mollifier can help ease the tension in discussions.

  • He often acts as a mollifier during team meetings.

  • Writers often use a mollifier to make criticism sound less harsh.

  • Adding a mollifier can help maintain politeness in sensitive discussions.

  • The word 'somewhat' acted as a mollifier in her otherwise blunt comment.

Synonyms

sugarcoated remark
vsmollifier
5.7

A comment that makes criticism sound kinder than it is

softens the impact of any statement without needing flattering language

Antonyms

bluntness
6 4.8

A direct and honest way of speaking that can seem rude

How Mild

euphemism
46 6.1
mollifier
  • Specialized
9.5
hedge
9 7.5

Surface Forms

mollifier singular
mollifiers plural

Morphology

mollifier = mollify (transparent) = mollify + er

Regular nominalization from the verb 'mollify' producing an item (here, a linguistic device) that lessens harshness.

Etymology

Mollifier comes from the Latin root moll- meaning 'soft', the same root in mollify and mollusc ('soft-bodied animal'). So a mollifier is a word or phrase that 'softens' a statement to make it less harsh.