soft science

American  

noun

1. any of the specialized fields or disciplines, as psychology, sociology, anthropology, or political science, that interpret human behavior, institutions, society, etc., on the basis of scientific investigations for which it may be difficult to establish strictly measurable criteria.

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soft science British  

noun

1. a science, such as sociology or anthropology, that deals with humans as its principle subject matter, and is therefore not generally considered to be based on rigorous experimentation

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Etymology

Origin of soft science

First recorded in 1965–70

Compare meaning

How does soft-science compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• hard science vs. soft science

Example Sentences

“There’s a lot of soft science of what makes a consumer feel like something is durable,” she told Grist.

From Salon • May 2, 2024

I really tried to keep it soft science, but I’ve got a feeling it’s probably somewhere in the middle.

From The Verge • Jul. 15, 2019

Reporters like to think of themselves as empiricists, but journalism is a soft science.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2015

It wanted to move from being a soft science to a hard science.

From Forbes • Sep. 2, 2014

The solution involves psychology, a discipline that in the author's depiction is something between a soft science and a firm seafood quiche.

From Time Magazine Archive