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.
"I really admire MS Dhoni's mindset," says the soft-spoken Lamboria of the former Indian captain.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
De la Fuente, soft-spoken and professorial, is also scrupulously polite, an example many of his players follow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
As Othello, Mr. Quinn is at first surprisingly soft-spoken, not putting too much polish on the character’s transfixing eloquence—“the Othello music,” as critics have called it—in his recitation of how he won Desdemona’s love.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a soft-spoken central banker who chooses his words carefully, is perhaps an unlikely candidate to become one of the few figures who have stood up to President Donald Trump.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Lawson was an opportunist, and although he was soft-spoken and possessed Old World manners, his invitation wasn’t proffered completely out of courtesy.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
