emollient
/ɪˈmɒlɪənt
/adjective
1Having the quality of softening or soothing the skin: a rich emollient shampoo...
- It is an incredibly emollient skin-shielding cream - perfect for preventing chapped skin.
- The emollient creams make the top layers of skin seem moister for a short time, but the other ingredients are actually drying the skin so you have to use more of the lotion, etc.
- Very occasionally, emollient creams may sting the skin when first applied to very dry skin.
Synonyms
moisturizing, palliative, balsamic;
soothing, softening
technical humectant
2Attempting to avoid confrontation or anger; calming or conciliatory: the president’s emollient approach to differences...
- The bombings and attempted bombings in London have brought home to the American public that we face implacable enemies unwilling to be appeased by even the most emollient diplomacy.
- By and large, this approach has proved useful and even emollient.
- At the local carabinieri station, an officer was more emollient: ‘By the end of the month everything should be resolved.’
Synonyms
conciliatory, conciliating, appeasing, soothing, calming, pacifying, assuaging, placating, mollifying, relaxing, propitiatory
noun
A preparation that softens the skin: always moisturize exposed skin with an effective emollient...
- A major disadvantage of alcohols is their drying effect, although some newer preparations contain emollients to minimize skin drying.
- Commonly used in moisturizers, emollients lubricate the skin and give the cosmetic product a smooth, soft feeling.
- You must have tried the standard treatment with emollients, which soften the skin and increase its water content.
Synonyms
moisturizer, cream, oil, ointment, rub, lotion, salve, unguent, balsam
technical humectant
dated pomade
Derivatives
emollience
- We can count on less patience, less emollience, less nervous anxiety to please everyone (at home, and abroad).
- But even if the calculated emollience is a stratagem, it confirms one of the most improbable features of his character.
- Listen to the careful emollience and the surprising promises he made.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin emollient- 'making soft', from the verb emollire, from e- (variant of ex- 'out') + mollis 'soft'.
mollusc from late 18th century:
Most molluscs have hard shells, but they need these because they are so soft underneath, which gives them their name, from Latin mollis ‘soft’. This also lies behind mollify (Late Middle English) originally to make soft, emollient (mid 17th century), and share an Indo-European root with Germanic melt (Old English) and mild (Old English).