soften
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become soft or softer
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to make or become gentler
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(intr) commerce
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(of demand, a market, etc) to weaken
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(of a price) to fall
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has softenedperfect 3rd person singular
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have softenedperfect
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has been softeningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are softeningprogressive
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is softeningprogressive 3rd person singular
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softenssingular 3rd person
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softeningparticiple
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have been softeningperfect progressive
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am softeningprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had softenedperfect
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had been softeningperfect progressive
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were softeningprogressive plural
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was softeningprogressive singular
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softenedsimple
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softenedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of soften
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at soft, -en 1
Explanation
To soften is to make something soft, or to become soft. A stick of butter will soften after sitting on the counter for an hour—or you can soften it by squishing it with a wooden spoon. You can literally soften things, the way a sculptor softens clay or you soften the skin on your hands with lotion. Turning down the sound is another way to soften something: "I'll soften the radio so it doesn't keep you awake." When you make something gentler or less severe, you also soften it, like when a lawmaker tries to soften the effect of a law by proposing a tax cut in return.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sitting there outside Thank You Coffee, I felt something in me soften.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s exports momentum may moderate in the first half of this year, as the impact of front-loaded demand fades and commodity prices soften, RHB economist Wong Xian Yong said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
While convenient, these warmer conditions speed up respiration and ripening, causing fruit to soften and deteriorate more rapidly.
From Science Daily • May 23, 2026
The drugmaker is moving to soften an upcoming blow in 2028, when key patent protections for Keytruda begin to expire.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
That was something he’d been noticing more—that he was able to soften her, to rub out those hard edges of hers, when he smiled.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
