Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Softening and soothing, especially to the skin.
- adj. Making less harsh or abrasive; mollifying: the emollient approach of a diplomatic mediator.
- n. An agent that softens or soothes the skin.
- n. An agent that assuages or mollifies.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Softening; making soft or supple; serving to relax the solids of anything.
- n. A therapeutic agent or process which softens and relaxes living tissues, as a poultice or massage. The word was formerly applied to the so-called demulcents.
Wiktionary
- n. Something which softens or lubricates the skin.
- n. Anything soothing the mind, or that makes something more acceptable.
- adj. Moisturizing.
- adj. Soothing or mollifying.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Softening; making supple; acting as an emollient.
- n. (Med.) An external something or soothing application to allay irritation, soreness, etc.
WordNet 3.0
Etymologies
- From Latin emolliēns, present active participle of ēmolliō ("make soft"), from e- + molliō, from mollis ("soft"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin ēmolliēns, ēmollient-, present participle of ēmollīre, to soften : ē-, ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + mollīre, to soften (from mollis, soft; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“From what I’ve been able to glean online, it’s a hormonal thing, and no amount of soaking in emollient baths seems to make a blind bit of difference.”
“Peter Riddell, author of "The Unfulfilled Prime Minister: Tony Blair and the End of Optimism," says that if Brown, once he's become prime minister, cannot be "emollient" to hard-core Blairites, the "fault lines" will widen, possibly splitting the party in two.”
“You clearly have no idea at all about what I actually said but I wouldn't want you to let the facts get in the way of a good rant," replied the ever emollient Davies.”
“Senior officials and diplomats in Brussels confirmed that the IMF threat to pull the plug on its funding, in stark contrast to the more emollient line of Strauss-Kahn, had been defused because of a German climbdown.”
The Guardian: Hardline IMF forced Germany to guarantee Greek bailout
“Ever emollient, she adds: "If we succeed it should mean that the rest of the system should be doing more and better.”
The Guardian: UN Women's head Michelle Bachelet: A new superhero?
“A more emollient figure than Eric Pickles – who could start a fight in an empty room – might reduce the levels of animosity between the government and local councils.”
The Guardian: Reshuffle in haste, Mr Cameron, and you will repent at leisure | Andrew Rawnsley
“I hated to see it, and from a fact-checking point of view there were real questions about whether she uses Botox, or another emollient derived from Clostridium botulinum.”
“This new line of lip gloss is high-shine, emollient-rich, and comes in 35 friggin' shades.”
The Huffington Post: Pandora Young: January's Best Beauty Finds
“David Bernstein's imminent appointment as the new Football Association chairman is down in part to his emollient nature – but Newcastle's owner Mike Ashley might disagree”
The Guardian: Ghosts of FA's past return to give David Bernstein first test
“Michael Tomasky: Going beyond Obama's usual 'post-partisan' politics, this speech was almost weirdly emollient.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘emollient’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Familiar
Just a list of words
fulminate, unctuous, malediction, lumpenproletariat, descry, surfeit, sententious, supernumerary, unabashed, picayune, obliterate, decry and 122 more...
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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phrontistery - e
from phrontistery.info
eagre, earing, earwig, easement, eau-de-nil, ebberman, ebeneous, ?boulement, ebriection, ?brillade, ebrious, ebullioscope and 616 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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Latin
exempli gratia, deus ex machina, prolix, sisyphean, minatory, empyrean, cicatrix, demulcent, effulgence, emulsion, garum, ablative and 39 more...
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to memorize
words i need to memorize
aberrant, abscond, advocate, aggrandize, amalgamate, ambiguous, ambrosial, anomalous, antediluvian, antipathy, arbitrate, assuage and 163 more...
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ash vocab
flippant, fillip, expiate, explicate, extirpate, facile, florid, fealty, allegiance, fetid, febrile, pert and 134 more...
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Hit Parade GRE
Princeton Review words
abscond, aberrant, alacrity, anomaly, approbation, arduous, assuage, audacious, austere, axiomatic, canonical, capricious and 287 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 491 more...
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Learned
ambergris, andiron, aphelion, austral, bellicose, boreal, bravura, chaff, chicanery, creditable, credulous, decamp and 223 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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To Learn
enervate, redolent, distaff, approbation, arrogate, bonhomie, palliate, calumny, panoply, contumacious, edify, dyspeptic and 188 more...
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Vocab
Words that I come across, and go blank, or want to clarify.
nefarious, edifice, malevolent, ostensible, folderol, bauble, livid, amnesty, calculus, saddlery, maisonette, cuisse and 423 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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Vocab from High School
Words that I found in an old notebook.
affinity, aggrandizement, altruistic, ameliorate, apochryphal, aversion, blithe, bombastic, cajole, callous, capitulate, capricious and 178 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for emollient.
milosrdenstvi Hail, poetry, thou heav'n-born maid!
Thou gildest e'en the pirate's trade!
Hail, flowing fount of sentiment!
All hail, all hail, Divine Emollient!
-- W.S. Gilbert, The Pirates of Penzance
I really ought to do a G&S list. Aug 20, 2008