soft focus

American  

noun

Photography.

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

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Other Word Forms

• soft-focus
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of soft focus

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

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

At first glance, the movie appears to be a soft focus romance.

From New York Times • Sep. 29, 2022

Looking back, it’s puzzling to think that Newton-John was seen as such a threat, particularly because her albums of the early and mid-1970s were captured in permanent soft focus.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 9, 2022

Coulter took off his coat and hat and hung them up, trying to remember details of a life he had long since allowed to blur into soft focus.

From A World Apart by Merwin, Sam