soft touch

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a person who is easily convinced, especially to give or lend money.

   a soft touch for charities.

2. a person who is easily influenced, duped, or imposed upon.

   a soft touch for anybody with a sob story.

3. a person, team, etc., that is easily defeated.

   They're a soft touch for any team in the league.

4. a task or activity that is easily or quickly done, especially a job that pays well and requires little work.

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soft touch British  

noun

1. informal a person easily persuaded or imposed on, esp to lend money

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soft touch Idioms  

1. Someone easily persuaded or taken advantage of, especially in giving away money. For example, Ask Dan for the money; he's always a soft touch. [First half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of soft touch

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

For a while, they thought maybe their new neighbor just had a soft touch, and a large heart.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

As a writer, Hughes was gifted with a heavy hand and a soft touch.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

He told BBC Scotland News that he had plans to fix the NHS, get young people into work and to end a "soft touch" approach to justice.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026

In a nation of noisy confrontationalists—the skillful soft touch replaced by the swing of a folding chair—reason is routinely drowned out by the loudest voices in the room.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

I walked slowly down the hall, surrounded by my shouting and jostling classmates, seeing only the beautiful soldier, feeling only the electric tingle of her soft touch on my head.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang