soft focus

American

noun

Photography.

an image, often created by a special lens, that is recognizable but somewhat blurred or diffused.

Other Word Forms

soft-focus adjective

Etymology

Origin of soft focus

First recorded in 1915–20

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.

A tender city romance about about gentrification and Black melancholy, “Love, Brooklyn” brings together appealing actors and the charms of New York’s ever-changing borough into soft focus.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025

And gone is the soft focus, the half-smile and the parted lips from her official portrait last time she was in the White House.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025

Popular ideas about preschool usually involve a soft focus on cuddly kids, not the stuff of tough public policy or hard numbers.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2023

A comprehensive visual aesthetic heavy on VHS fuzz, Polaroid soft focus and subversive holy imagery helped pique curiosity.

From New York Times • May 11, 2022

Have soft focus lenses been used for producing screen plays and with what result?”

From Pictorial Photography in America 1921 by Pictorial Photographers of America

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023