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View synonyms for soft sell

soft sell

1

noun

  1. a method of advertising or selling that is quietly persuasive, subtle, and indirect ( hard sell ).


soft-sell

2

[ sawft-sel, soft- ]

verb (used with object)

, soft-sold, soft-sell·ing.
  1. to promote (a product, service, etc.) using indirect or gentle persuasion:

    an advertising campaign to soft-sell a new perfume.

adjective

  1. (of a sales technique) quietly or indirectly persuasive:

    a soft-sell approach to marketing.

soft sell

noun

  1. a method of selling based on indirect suggestion or inducement Compare hard sell
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of soft sell1

First recorded in 1950–55

Origin of soft sell2

First recorded in 1950–55
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Idioms and Phrases

see hard sell , def. 1.
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Example Sentences

In those weekly talks, his poise and, of course, sweetness are blatantly Sufi, yet there is no hint of a bohemian soft sell.

But the soft sell was too hard for him, and at times, he reverted to Hollywood Arnold.

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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.

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