soft

[ sawft, soft ]

adjective

, soft·er, soft·est.

1. yielding readily to touch or pressure; easily penetrated, divided, or changed in shape; not hard or stiff:

   a soft pillow.

   Synonyms: malleable, plastic, pliable

2. relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.
3. smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse:

   a soft fabric;

   soft skin.

4. producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable:

   soft slumber.

5. low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious:

   soft music;

   a soft voice.

   Synonyms: sweet, dulcet, mellifluous

6. not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring:

   soft light;

   a soft color.

7. not hard or sharp:

   soft outlines.

8. gentle or mild:

   soft breezes.

9. genial or balmy, as climate or air.
10. gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate:

    a soft, grandmotherly woman.

    Synonyms: sympathetic, tender

11. smooth, soothing, or ingratiating:

    soft words.

12. not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.
13. responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.
14. sentimental or flowery, as language:

    soft, meaningless talk.

15. not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion:

    He was too soft for the Marines.

    Synonyms: feeble, weak

16. Informal. easy; involving little effort; not difficult, laborious, trying, or severe:

    a soft job.

17. Informal. easily influenced or swayed; easily imposed upon; impressionable.

    Synonyms: submissive, irresolute, compliant

18. lenient, permissive, or conciliatory, especially regarding something that is conceived of as dangerous or threatening:

    to be soft on Communism.

19. (of water) relatively free from mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.
20. (of paper money or a monetary system) not supported by sufficient gold reserves or not easily convertible into a foreign currency.
21. (of a market, market condition, or prices) declining in value, volume, profitability, etc.; weak: Compare firm ¹( def 7 ).

    a soft tourist season.

22. (of money) plentiful or available at low interest rates or on easy terms:

    a soft loan.

23. soft-core.
24. Metallurgy.
    1. (of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
    2. (of solder) fusing readily.
    3. (of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.
25. Photography.
    1. (of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
    2. (of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
    3. (of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.
26. Phonetics.
    1. (of consonants) lenis, especially lenis and voiced.
    2. (of c and g ) pronounced as in cent and gem.
    3. (of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized. Compare hard ( def 38 ).
27. Military. (of a missile-launching base) aboveground and relatively unprotected from enemy attack.
28. Aerospace. (of a landing of a space vehicle) gentle; not harmful to the vehicle or its contents:

    a soft landing on the moon.

29. Physics. (of a beam of particles or electromagnetic radiation ) having relatively low energy: Compare hard ( def 40 ).

    soft x-rays.

30. (of a delegate, voter, etc.) not committed to any one candidate.
31. Informal. foolish or stupid:

    soft in the head.

32. (of a detergent) readily biodegradable.
33. Baseball. lacking power or speed:

    a soft infield hit; a soft breaking pitch.

noun

1. something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.
2. softness.

adverb

1. in a soft manner.

interjection

, Archaic.

1. be quiet! hush!
2. not so fast! stop!

soft

/ sɒft /

adjective

1. easy to dent, work, or cut without shattering; malleable
2. not hard; giving little or no resistance to pressure or weight
3. fine, light, smooth, or fluffy to the touch
4. gentle; tranquil
5. (of music, sounds, etc) low and pleasing
6. (of light, colour, etc) not excessively bright or harsh
7. (of a breeze, climate, etc) temperate, mild, or pleasant
8. dialect.
   drizzly or rainy

   a soft day

   the weather has turned soft

9. slightly blurred; not sharply outlined

   soft focus

10. (of a diet) consisting of easily digestible foods
11. kind or lenient, often excessively so
12. easy to influence or impose upon
13. prepared to compromise; not doctrinaire

    the soft left

14. informal.
    feeble or silly; simple (often in the phrase soft in the head )
15. unable to endure hardship, esp through too much pampering
16. physically out of condition; flabby

    soft muscles

17. loving; tender

    soft words

18. informal.
    requiring little exertion; easy

    a soft job

19. chem (of water) relatively free of mineral salts and therefore easily able to make soap lather
20. (of a drug such as cannabis) nonaddictive or only mildly addictive Compare hard
21. (of news coverage) concentrating on trivial stories or those with human interest
22. phonetics
    1. an older word for lenis
    2. (not in technical usage) denoting the consonants c and g in English when they are pronounced as palatal or alveolar fricatives or affricates (s, / dʒ /, / ʃ /, / ð /, / tʃ /) before e and i, rather than as velar stops (k, g)
    3. (in the Slavonic languages) palatalized before a front vowel or a special character ( soft sign ) written as
23. 1. unprotected against attack

       a soft target

    2. military unarmoured, esp as applied to a truck by comparison with a tank
24. finance (of prices, a market, etc) unstable and tending to decline
25. (of a currency) in relatively little demand, esp because of a weak balance of payments situation
26. (of radiation, such as X-rays and ultraviolet radiation) having low energy and not capable of deep penetration of materials
27. physics (of valves or tubes) only partially evacuated
28. related to the performance of non-specific, undefinable tasks

    soft skills such as customer services and office support

29. soft on or soft about
    1. gentle, sympathetic, or lenient towards
    2. feeling affection or infatuation for

adverb

1. in a soft manner

   to speak soft

noun

1. a soft object, part, or piece
2. informal.
   See softie

interjection

1. quiet!
2. wait!

Derived Forms

• ˈsoftly, adverb

Other Words From

• soft·ly adverb
• soft·ness noun
• o·ver·soft adjective
• su·per·soft adjective
• ul·tra·soft adjective
• un·soft adjective
• un·soft·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English softe “yielding, gentle, mild,” Old English sōfte “agreeable, comfortable”; cognate with German sanft

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft¹

Old English sōfte; related to Old Saxon sāfti, Old High German semfti gentle

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be soft on someone, Informal. to be amorously inclined toward a person; have an affection for:

   He's been soft on her for years.

More idioms and phrases containing soft

• hard (soft) sell

Example Sentences

“I know it sounds so simple and naive, but I don’t understand how the bad guy keeps winning,” she says, choking up, her soft voice tinged with disbelief.

From Los Angeles Times

The soft bun is hollowed out and warmed after ordering, making it a “French dog,” as the locals call it.

From Salon

Steeped in Gothic and Renaissance-era references, Bernad’s romantic designs feature almost exclusively antique lace and crochet in shades of cream and ivory, and sometimes black or the softest pink.

From Los Angeles Times

And cracked it is, a fine web of fractures disrupting the once soft and seamless surface — inevitable in an oil painting on wooden panel of its ancient age.

From Los Angeles Times

Open cell spray foam remains soft once set and is only used for insulation.

From BBC

Related Words

• comfortable
• comfy
• creamy
• delicate
• easy
• elastic
• flexible
• fluffy
• mushy
• plastic
• pliable
• rounded
• silky
• smooth
• spongy
• supple
• thin
• velvety