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soft line

American  

noun

  1. a position or policy, as in politics, that is moderate and flexible.


soft line British  

noun

  1. a moderate flexible attitude or policy

"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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of soft line

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

The revolutionary regime, desperate to survive, is taking a surprisingly soft line with today’s rebels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

That helps to explain why the regime is so loath to take a soft line on the issue of dress codes.

From Washington Post • Sep. 24, 2022

But with two outs Andrelton Simmons hit soft line drive single to right field.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 30, 2020

Early in the game, Fernando came to bat and hit a soft line drive foul towards our seat on the loge level.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2019

The fancied resemblances, I fear, arise sometimes merely from the ambiguity of words; there is supposed to be some relation between a soft line and a soft couch, or between hard syllables and hard fortune.

From The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in Nine Volumes Volume the Eighth: The Lives of the Poets, Volume II by Johnson, Samuel

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