soft skills

British

plural noun

desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude

"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

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.

That means workers in roles that typically require a lot of hard skills will need to buff up on soft skills.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

The glowing thank-you note from a client, on the other hand, is something you can cite as proof of your soft skills.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

Further, the governor’s office said, “working allows children to learn valuable soft skills that will help them be successful.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2025

That could mean taking a new career path or starting a business, whether you have technical skills like being an expert coder or so-called soft skills like being empathetic or funny.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

“I don’t think so. You need to work on some of your soft skills before I send you off to MIT. You need to be around your peers. Now, come on.”

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023