softener
Americannoun
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softeners
plural
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Chemistry.
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any admixture to a substance for promoting or increasing its softness, smoothness, or plasticity.
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a person or thing that softens.
noun
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a substance added to another substance to increase its softness, pliability, or plasticity
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a substance, such as a zeolite, for softening water
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of softener
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.
See Examples For:
Cabs can now smell like Axe body spray, a Dunkin’ latte or Downy fabric softener.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
She’d never planned to do TV or film, but when an advertising executive approached her one night after she’d performed an ensemble role in “Gypsy,” she soon booked TV ads for fabric softener and diapers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2024
Vinegar can be a great fabric softener alternative, according to SF Gate.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
Laundry detergent, fabric softener, fabric shampoo and conditioners and other cleaning products from the brand produced between January 2021 and September 2022 were recalled, the U.S.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2022
One teenage girl at Hangyoreh School gargled with liquid fabric softener, mistaking it for mouthwash.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Ion exchange resin is the same technology found in many home water softeners.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024
Chia sometimes decants laundry detergent, softeners, dryer sheets and wool balls out of their original packaging into clear canisters to create uniform storage in sizes that work in the space.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
DLE technologies are comparable to common household water softeners, which remove metals from drinking water.
From Reuters ● Oct. 7, 2021
Cascade’s website says its dishwasher packs are formulated with water softeners to help prevent hard water deposits on your dishes and, in many cases, eliminate the need for a rinse aid.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 13, 2020
All softening machines for jute, or softeners as they are often called, are similar in construction, but the number of pairs of rollers varies according to circumstances and to the opinions of managers.
From The Jute Industry: from Seed to Finished Cloth by T. Woodhouse
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.
