soft

[ sawft, soft ]

/ sɔft, sɒft /

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See synonyms for: soft / softer / softly / softness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, soft·er, soft·est.

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

relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.

smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse: a soft fabric; soft skin.

producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable: soft slumber.

low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious: soft music;a soft voice.

not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring: soft light;a soft color.

not hard or sharp: soft outlines.

gentle or mild: soft breezes.

genial or balmy, as climate or air.

gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate: a soft, grandmotherly woman.

smooth, soothing, or ingratiating: soft words.

not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.

responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.

sentimental or flowery, as language: soft, meaningless talk.

not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion: He was too soft for the Marines.

Informal. easy; involving little effort; not difficult, laborious, trying, or severe: a soft job.

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

lenient, permissive, or conciliatory, especially regarding something that is conceived of as dangerous or threatening: to be soft on Communism.

(of water) relatively free from mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.

(of paper money or a monetary system) not supported by sufficient gold reserves or not easily convertible into a foreign currency.

(of a market, market condition, or prices) declining in value, volume, profitability, etc.; weak: a soft tourist season.Compare firm¹ (def. 7).

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

soft-core.

Metallurgy.

(of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
(of solder) fusing readily.
(of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.

Photography.

(of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
(of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
(of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.

Phonetics.

(of consonants) lenis, especially lenis and voiced.
(of c and g) pronounced as in cent and gem.
(of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized.Compare hard (def. 38).

Military. (of a missile-launching base) aboveground and relatively unprotected from enemy attack.

Aerospace. (of a landing of a space vehicle) gentle; not harmful to the vehicle or its contents: a soft landing on the moon.

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

(of a delegate, voter, etc.) not committed to any one candidate.

Informal. foolish or stupid: soft in the head.

(of a detergent) readily biodegradable.

Baseball. lacking power or speed: a soft infield hit; a soft breaking pitch.

noun

something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.

softness.

adverb

in a soft manner.

interjection Archaic.

be quiet! hush!

not so fast! stop!

OTHER WORDS FOR soft

1 pliable, plastic, malleable.

5 mellifluous, dulcet, sweet.

10 tender, sympathetic.

11 mollifying.

15 weak, feeble.

17 compliant, irresolute, submissive.

See synonyms for soft on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about soft

be soft on someone, Informal. to be amorously inclined toward a person; have an affection for: He's been soft on her for years.

Origin of soft

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

OTHER WORDS FROM soft

soft·ly, adverbsoft·ness, nouno·ver·soft, adjectivesu·per·soft, adjective

ul·tra·soft, adjectiveun·soft, adjectiveun·soft·ly, adverb

Words nearby soft

soffit, soffritto, Sofia, sofrito, S. of Sol., soft, softa, soft armor, softback, softball, softballer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use soft in a sentence

They are also odor-resistant and get increasingly softer over time.
Best weighted blanket: Sleep like a baby with our comfy bedding picks|PopSci Commerce Team|February 12, 2021|Popular-Science
The artist can’t turn lead into gold, but making the hard gray substance appear soft and lacy is almost as impressive.
In the galleries: Rejuvenating the obsolete into unconventional art|Mark Jenkins|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
The center will still be quite soft and slightly dipped, but the sides will be set.
If loving a piping hot chocolate lava cake is wrong, I don’t want to be right|Becky Krystal|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
Tough leather palms make them perfect for cold-weather tasks at home or digging your car out of a snowbank, while a thin construction with touchscreen functionality, articulated fingers, and a breathable soft-shell back mean it can work as a liner.
My Favorite Winter Gloves for Various Activities|Jakob Schiller|February 3, 2021|Outside Online

Giving up alcohol and coffee was easier than sticking to my soft diet, in fact, because I kept trying to force every meal into a “healthy” form.
Six Months of Soft Food Set Me Free|Meghan McCarron|February 2, 2021|Eater
There were stomachs, taut and flat, but also undulating bellies, soft and bloated from the breakfast buffet.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Francis is well into his seventies, looks it, has a mild demeanor and soft speaking style; but his rhetoric is electrifying.
How Pope Francis Became the World’s BFF|Jason Berry|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My surgeon told me my bones were so soft he could barely install the screws.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, with such a soft-handed approach comes criticism from the Danish right.
What the U.S. Can Learn from Europe About Dealing with Terrorists|Scott Beauchamp|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And Christopher Walken warbling and doing a little soft-shoe?
‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And once more, she found herself desiring to be like Janet--not only in appearance, but in soft manner and tone.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
A few small rocks of some soft stone may be added, and in between these the Ferns are planted.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
His face flushed with annoyance, and taking off his soft hat he began to beat it impatiently against his leg as he walked.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The delicious soft rains set in early, promising a good grain year.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Not a zephyr ruffled the leaf of a rose, and a soft breathing fragrance bathed his reposing senses.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for soft

soft

/ (sɒft) /

adjective

easy to dent, work, or cut without shattering; malleable

not hard; giving little or no resistance to pressure or weight

fine, light, smooth, or fluffy to the touch

gentle; tranquil

(of music, sounds, etc) low and pleasing

(of light, colour, etc) not excessively bright or harsh

(of a breeze, climate, etc) temperate, mild, or pleasant

dialect drizzly or rainya soft day; the weather has turned soft

slightly blurred; not sharply outlinedsoft focus

(of a diet) consisting of easily digestible foods

kind or lenient, often excessively so

easy to influence or impose upon

prepared to compromise; not doctrinairethe soft left

informal feeble or silly; simple (often in the phrase soft in the head)

unable to endure hardship, esp through too much pampering

physically out of condition; flabbysoft muscles

loving; tendersoft words

informal requiring little exertion; easya soft job

chem (of water) relatively free of mineral salts and therefore easily able to make soap lather

(of a drug such as cannabis) nonaddictive or only mildly addictiveCompare hard (def. 19)

(of news coverage) concentrating on trivial stories or those with human interest

phonetics

an older word for lenis
(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)
(in the Slavonic languages) palatalized before a front vowel or a special character (soft sign) written as Ь

unprotected against attacka soft target
military unarmoured, esp as applied to a truck by comparison with a tank

finance, mainly US (of prices, a market, etc) unstable and tending to decline

(of a currency) in relatively little demand, esp because of a weak balance of payments situation

(of radiation, such as X-rays and ultraviolet radiation) having low energy and not capable of deep penetration of materials

physics (of valves or tubes) only partially evacuated

related to the performance of non-specific, undefinable taskssoft skills such as customer services and office support

soft on or soft about

gentle, sympathetic, or lenient towards
feeling affection or infatuation for

adverb

in a soft mannerto speak soft

noun

a soft object, part, or piece

informal See softie

interjection archaic

quiet!

wait!

Derived forms of soft

softly, adverb

Word Origin for soft

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with soft

soft

In addition to the idioms beginning with soft

soften up
soft in the head
soft job
soft on
soft pedal
soft sell
soft soap
soft spot
soft touch

also see:

hard (soft) sell

soft

OTHER WORDS FOR soft

Idioms about soft

Origin of soft

OTHER WORDS FROM soft

Words nearby soft

Words related to soft

How to use soft in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for soft

Derived forms of soft

Word Origin for soft

Other Idioms and Phrases with soft