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Webster 1913 Edition

Emollient

E-mol′lient

(?; 106)
,
Adj.
[L.
emolliens
,
-entis
, p. pr. of
emollire
to soften;
e
out +
mollire
to soften,
mollis
soft: cf. F.
émollient
. See
Mollify
.]
Softening; making supple; acting as an emollient.
“Emollient applications.”
Arbuthnot.

E-mol′lient

(?; 105)
,
Noun.
(Med.)
An external something or soothing application to allay irritation, soreness, etc.

Webster 1828 Edition

Emollient

EMOL'LIENT

,
Adj.
Softening; making supple; relaxing the solids.
Barley is emollient.

EMOL'LIENT

,
Noun.
A medicine which softens and relaxes, or sheaths the solids; that which softens or removes the asperities of the humors.

Definition 2025

emollient

emollient

See also: émollient

English

Noun

emollient ‎(plural emollients)

  1. Something which softens or lubricates the skin; moisturizer.
    • 2008, Carol A. Miller, Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults (Fifth edition), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, p. 505,
      [T]he effectiveness of an emollient is based on its ability to prevent water evaporation, […]
  2. Anything soothing the mind, or that makes something more acceptable.
    • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas,
      Attentive conversation is an emollient I lack sorely aboard Prophetess & the doctor is a veritable polymath.

Translations

Adjective

emollient ‎(comparative more emollient, superlative most emollient)

  1. Moisturizing.
  2. Soothing or mollifying.

Translations

Related terms

Latin

Verb

ēmollient

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of ēmolliō

Etymology

From French émollient, from Latin emolliēns, present active participle of ēmolliō ‎(“make soft”), from ē- + molliō, from mollis ‎(“soft”).

Pronunciation

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