soft

[sawft, soft]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR soft ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, soft·er, soft·est.

yielding readily to touch or pressure; easily penetrated, divided, or changed in shape; not hard or stiff: a soft pillow.

relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.

smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse: a soft fabric; soft skin.

producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable: soft slumber.

low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious: soft music; a soft voice.

not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring: soft light; a soft color.

not hard or sharp: soft outlines.

gentle or mild: soft breezes.

genial or balmy, as climate or air.

gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate: a soft, grandmotherly woman.

smooth, soothing, or ingratiating: soft words.

not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.

responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.

sentimental or flowery, as language: soft, meaningless talk.

not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion: He was too soft for the Marines.

Informal. easy; involving little effort; not difficult, laborious, trying, or severe: a soft job.

Informal. easily influenced or swayed; easily imposed upon; impressionable.

lenient, permissive, or conciliatory, especially regarding something that is conceived of as dangerous or threatening: to be soft on Communism.

(of water) relatively free from mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.

(of paper money or a monetary system) not supported by sufficient gold reserves or not easily convertible into a foreign currency.

(of a market, market condition, or prices) declining in value, volume, profitability, etc.; weak: a soft tourist season.Compare firm¹(def 7).

(of money) plentiful or available at low interest rates or on easy terms: a soft loan.

soft-core.

Metallurgy.

(of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
(of solder) fusing readily.
(of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.

Photography.

(of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
(of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
(of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.

Phonetics.

(of consonants) lenis, especially lenis and voiced.
(of c and g) pronounced as in cent and gem.
(of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized.Compare hard(def 38).

Military. (of a missile-launching base) aboveground and relatively unprotected from enemy attack.

Aerospace. (of a landing of a space vehicle) gentle; not harmful to the vehicle or its contents: a soft landing on the moon.

Physics. (of a beam of particles or electromagnetic radiation) having relatively low energy: soft x-rays.Compare hard(def 40).

(of a delegate, voter, etc.) not committed to any one candidate.

foolish or stupid: soft in the head.

(of a detergent) readily biodegradable.

noun

something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.

softness.

adverb

in a soft manner.

interjection Archaic.

be quiet! hush!

not so fast! stop!

Idioms

be soft on someone, Informal. to be amorously inclined toward a person; have an affection for: He's been soft on her for years.

Origin of soft

before 1000; Middle English softe yielding, gentle, mild, Old English sōfte agreeable; cognate with German sanft

Related formssoft·ly, adverbsoft·ness, nouno·ver·soft, adjectiveo·ver·soft·ly, adverbo·ver·soft·ness, nounsu·per·soft, adjectiveul·tra·soft, adjectiveul·tra·soft·ly, adverbul·tra·soft·ness, nounun·soft, adjectiveun·soft·ly, adverbun·soft·ness, noun

Synonyms for soft

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR soft ON THESAURUS.COM

1. pliable, plastic, malleable. 5. mellifluous, dulcet, sweet. 10. tender, sympathetic. 11. mollifying. 15. weak, feeble. 17. compliant, irresolute, submissive.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for softly

quietly, delicately, smoothly, gently, gingerly, tenderly, faintly, carelessly, gradually, nimbly, agilely, airily, breezily, daintily

Examples from the Web for softly

Contemporary Examples of softly

“J.W. heard Hayden say softly, ‘You smell good,’” the papers report.
Rape, Lies & Videotape in Ferguson
Michael Daly
November 18, 2014
Kimberlin, who looks and softly speaks like a miniaturized clone of David Strathairn, could not lay a glove on his tormenter.
The Weirdest Story About a Conservative Obsession, a Convicted Bomber, and Taylor Swift You Have Ever Read
David Weigel
August 30, 2014
“Boom,” my boyfriend whispered to me softly when he noticed me looking out the window.
How I Got Used to Gaza Rockets
Miranda Frum
July 9, 2014
Silently, he moves to grab a kombo (a whisk broom instrument)—then, softly, he taps her shoulders and head.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction
Abby Haglage
May 4, 2014
And in the great new family, The family of the free, With softly spoken, kindly word Remember also me.
Ukrainians in U.S. Warn: ‘Mr. Putin, Heroes Do Not Die’
Michael Daly
April 1, 2014

Historical Examples of softly

“Fair and softly,” said the printer with something of a smile.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
He turned her face up to his own again, and softly kissed her wet eyes.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
"It certainly is nice to be liked," returned Kathleen softly.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Then, still softly and swiftly, he lifted the saddle from its peg and put it on its back.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
She went about looking at things, curious, touching them softly as if they were sacred.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for softly

soft

adjective

easy to dent, work, or cut without shattering; malleable

not hard; giving little or no resistance to pressure or weight

fine, light, smooth, or fluffy to the touch

gentle; tranquil

(of music, sounds, etc) low and pleasing

(of light, colour, etc) not excessively bright or harsh

(of a breeze, climate, etc) temperate, mild, or pleasant

dialect drizzly or rainya soft day; the weather has turned soft

slightly blurred; not sharply outlinedsoft focus

(of a diet) consisting of easily digestible foods

kind or lenient, often excessively so

easy to influence or impose upon

prepared to compromise; not doctrinairethe soft left

informal feeble or silly; simple (often in the phrase soft in the head)

unable to endure hardship, esp through too much pampering

physically out of condition; flabbysoft muscles

loving; tendersoft words

informal requiring little exertion; easya soft job

chem (of water) relatively free of mineral salts and therefore easily able to make soap lather

(of a drug such as cannabis) nonaddictive or only mildly addictiveCompare hard (def. 19)

(of news coverage) concentrating on trivial stories or those with human interest

phonetics

an older word for lenis
(not in technical usage) denoting the consonants c and g in English when they are pronounced as palatal or alveolar fricatives or affricates (s, / dʒ /, / ʃ /, / ð /, / tʃ /) before e and i, rather than as velar stops (k, g)
(in the Slavonic languages) palatalized before a front vowel or a special character (soft sign) written as Ь

unprotected against attacka soft target
militaryunarmoured, esp as applied to a truck by comparison with a tank

finance, mainly US (of prices, a market, etc) unstable and tending to decline

(of a currency) in relatively little demand, esp because of a weak balance of payments situation

(of radiation, such as X-rays and ultraviolet radiation) having low energy and not capable of deep penetration of materials

physics (of valves or tubes) only partially evacuated

related to the performance of non-specific, undefinable taskssoft skills such as customer services and office support

soft on or soft about

gentle, sympathetic, or lenient towards
feeling affection or infatuation for

adverb

in a soft mannerto speak soft

noun

a soft object, part, or piece

informal See softie

interjection archaic

quiet!

wait!

Derived Formssoftly, adverb

Word Origin for soft

Old English sōfte; related to Old Saxon sāfti, Old High German semfti gentle

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

Word Origin and History for softly

adv.

early 13c., "gently," from soft (adj.) + -ly (2).

soft

adj.

Old English softe, earlier sefte, "gentle, mild-natured; easeful, comfortable, calm, undisturbed; luxurious," from West Germanic *samfti, from Proto-Germanic *samftijaz "level, even, smooth, gentle, soft" (cf. Old Saxon safti, Old High German semfti, German sanft; and from a variant form with -ch- for -f-, Middle Dutch sachte, Dutch zacht, German sacht), from root *som- "fitting, agreeable."

From c.1200 of material things, "not stiff, not coarse, fine; yielding to weight." From late 14c. of wind, rain, etc. Of sounds, "quiet, not loud," from early 13c. Of words, "mild, restrained; courteous" mid-14c. From late 14c. as "indulgent," also "physically feeble; easily overcome, lacking manly courage." From 1755 of water ("relatively free from mineral salts"), from 1789 of coal. Meaning "foolish, simple, silly" is attested from 1620s; earlier "easily moved or swayed; soft-hearted, sympathetic; docile" (early 13c.). In reference to drinks, "non-alcoholic" from 1880. As an adverb, Old English softe "gently;" late 13c. as "quietly." As an interjection from 1540s.

Soft landing is from 1958 and the U.S. space program. Adjective soft-core (in reference to pornography) is from 1966 (cf. hardcore). Soft rock as a music style is attested from 1969. Soft sell is from 1955. Soft-shoe as a dancing style is attested from 1927. Soft-boiled is from 1757 of eggs; of persons, ideas, etc., 1930 (cf. half-baked). Soft-focus (adj.) of camera shots is from 1917. The softer sex "women collectively" is from 1640s.

Idioms and Phrases with softly

soft

In addition to the idioms beginning with soft

soften up
soft in the head
soft job
soft on
soft pedal
soft sell
soft soap
soft spot
soft touch

also see:

hard (soft) sell