English → Latin
“soften” in Latin
molliōto soften, make soft, make calm, moderate, mitigate, mollify; to make unmanly or effeminateēmolliōto soften; to enervate; to (take) shelter behindmītigōto make soft, ripe, or tender; to mitigate, make mild, tame, pacifymollēscōto become soft; to soften; to become mild, gentle; to become effeminate, unmanlylēniōto soften, soothe; to mollify, assuage, appease, pacifydēlēniōto soothe or soften down, mitigate; to charm, win, captivate, entice; to corrupt, bribe
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
soften
PROP., mollire, emollire: mitigare (transitively); emolliri: mollescere: emollescere: mitigari (intransitively).
Figuratively, mollire, emollire, commovere animum alicujus; aliquem, alicujus animum, lenire, delenire, mitigare (transitively); molliri: leniri (intransitively). To soften down anything in the telling, ad aliquem in mollius referre aliquid (Tac., Ann., 14, 39).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for soften?
- The usual Latin words for “soften” are molliō, ēmolliō, mītigō; also mollēscō, lēniō, dēlēniō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.