soft line
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- soft-line adjective
- soft-liner noun
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
That soft line has been an oft-repeated talking point of Taliban leaders in recent days.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2021
Mike Yastrzemski had San Francisco’s only two hits, the first a soft line drive with two outs in the sixth, and the second a single off closer Carlos Martinez in the ninth.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 3, 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
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.
