soft-spoken
Americanadjective
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(of persons) speaking with a soft or gentle voice; mild.
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(of words) softly or mildly spoken; persuasive.
adjective
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speaking or said with a soft gentle voice
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able to persuade or impress by glibness of tongue
Etymology
Origin of soft-spoken
First recorded in 1600–10
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 Rev. Israel Vázquez, 58, soft-spoken with close-cropped hair, had held Briany before, when he formally presented the baby to God in a ceremony at his Pentecostal church in Lakeland.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
"It is not every man who sees you that will express his love," said the soft-spoken college graduate, adding online is "the best way to find true love".
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
John Shirreffs, the soft-spoken giant who trained Zenyatta, perhaps the best mare of all-time, died in Southern California on Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026
Zielinski knew people who had purchased firearms in the years that followed, including a soft-spoken neighbor she never imagined buying one.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026
The biracial makeup of the team was of special significance to February, forty, a soft-spoken black paleoecologist and a climber of international renown.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
