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soft-spoken

American  
[sawft-spoh-kuhn, soft-] / ˈsɔftˈspoʊ kən, ˈsɒft- /

adjective

  1. (of persons) speaking with a soft or gentle voice; mild.

  2. (of words) softly or mildly spoken; persuasive.

soft-spoken British  

adjective

  1. speaking or said with a soft gentle voice

  2. able to persuade or impress by glibness of tongue

"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

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.

If anything, I considered myself to be a soft-spoken person.

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026

Nesbitt was a soft-spoken presence in a business of outsize egos, says Greg Williamson, a longtime pension-fund executive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

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

"Three to five years at most, and our entire medical model will be radically transformed," the soft-spoken Duan told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

In her shy, soft-spoken way, she helped me feel confident about my studies, and by the next progress report, my grades had returned to normal.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

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.