soft

[sawft, soft] /sɔft, sɒft/
adjective, softer, softest.
1.
yielding readily to touch or pressure; easily penetrated, divided, or changed in shape; not hard or stiff:
a soft pillow.
2.
relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.
3.
smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse:
a soft fabric; soft skin.
4.
producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable:
soft slumber.
5.
low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious:
soft music; a soft voice.
6.
not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring:
soft light; a soft color.
7.
not hard or sharp:
soft outlines.
8.
gentle or mild:
soft breezes.
9.
genial or balmy, as climate or air.
10.
gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate:
a soft, grandmotherly woman.
11.
smooth, soothing, or ingratiating:
soft words.
12.
not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.
13.
responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.
14.
sentimental or flowery, as language:
soft, meaningless talk.
15.
not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion:
He was too soft for the Marines.
16.
Informal. easy; involving little effort; not difficult, laborious, trying, or severe:
a soft job.
17.
Informal. easily influenced or swayed; easily imposed upon; impressionable.
18.
lenient, permissive, or conciliatory, especially regarding something that is conceived of as dangerous or threatening:
to be soft on Communism.
19.
(of water) relatively free from mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.
20.
(of paper money or a monetary system) not supported by sufficient gold reserves or not easily convertible into a foreign currency.
21.
(of a market, market condition, or prices) declining in value, volume, profitability, etc.; weak:
a soft tourist season.
Compare firm1 (def 7).
22.
(of money) plentiful or available at low interest rates or on easy terms:
a soft loan.
23.
soft-core.
24.
Metallurgy.
  1. (of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
  2. (of solder) fusing readily.
  3. (of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.
25.
Photography.
  1. (of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
  2. (of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
  3. (of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.
26.
Phonetics.
  1. (of consonants) lenis, especially lenis and voiced.
  2. (of c and g) pronounced as in cent and gem.
  3. (of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized.
    Compare hard (def 38).
27.
Military. (of a missile-launching base) aboveground and relatively unprotected from enemy attack.
28.
Aerospace. (of a landing of a space vehicle) gentle; not harmful to the vehicle or its contents:
a soft landing on the moon.
29.
Physics. (of a beam of particles or electromagnetic radiation) having relatively low energy:
soft x-rays.
Compare hard (def 40).
30.
(of a delegate, voter, etc.) not committed to any one candidate.
31.
foolish or stupid:
soft in the head.
32.
(of a detergent) readily biodegradable.
noun
33.
something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.
34.
softness.
adverb
35.
in a soft manner.
interjection, Archaic.
36.
be quiet! hush!
37.
not so fast! stop!
Idioms
38.
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
before 1000; Middle English softe yielding, gentle, mild, Old English sōfte agreeable; cognate with German sanft
Related forms
softly, adverb
softness, noun
oversoft, adjective
oversoftly, adverb
oversoftness, noun
supersoft, adjective
ultrasoft, adjective
ultrasoftly, adverb
ultrasoftness, noun
unsoft, adjective
unsoftly, adverb
unsoftness, noun
Synonyms
1. pliable, plastic, malleable. 5. mellifluous, dulcet, sweet. 10. tender, sympathetic. 11. mollifying. 15. weak, feeble. 17. compliant, irresolute, submissive.
Examples from the web for soft
  • Choose a sweet baguette with a light, slightly soft interior and thin, crisp crust.
  • In a hyperspace co-dimension, light has a soft misty glow compared to our harsh glaring light in this dimension.
  • Now, the fact that the college is a philanthropy doesn't mean that we're all soft and squishy and have no expectations of you.
  • The trouble is that consumers are increasingly experiencing healthier soft drinks and bottled water, rather than sugary cola.
  • For the first time, scientists have extracted what appears to be soft tissue from a dinosaur.
  • In practice, the results mean that you might soon be able to buy roses sporting soft petals all the way up the stem.
  • Transform your garden space into a retreat with the soft sound of water.
  • Toasty summer weather nurtures superbly soft cabernets and merlots.
  • soft is an adjective, but it's being used as an adverb.
  • Plastic bottles are convenient for grabbing water or soft drinks on the go.
British Dictionary definitions for soft

soft

/sɒft/
adjective
1.
easy to dent, work, or cut without shattering; malleable
2.
not hard; giving little or no resistance to pressure or weight
3.
fine, light, smooth, or fluffy to the touch
4.
gentle; tranquil
5.
(of music, sounds, etc) low and pleasing
6.
(of light, colour, etc) not excessively bright or harsh
7.
(of a breeze, climate, etc) temperate, mild, or pleasant
8.
(dialect) drizzly or rainy: a soft day, the weather has turned soft
9.
slightly blurred; not sharply outlined: soft focus
10.
(of a diet) consisting of easily digestible foods
11.
kind or lenient, often excessively so
12.
easy to influence or impose upon
13.
prepared to compromise; not doctrinaire: the soft left
14.
(informal) feeble or silly; simple (often in the phrase soft in the head)
15.
unable to endure hardship, esp through too much pampering
16.
physically out of condition; flabby: soft muscles
17.
loving; tender: soft words
18.
(informal) requiring little exertion; easy: a soft job
19.
(chem) (of water) relatively free of mineral salts and therefore easily able to make soap lather
20.
(of a drug such as cannabis) nonaddictive or only mildly addictive Compare hard (sense 19)
21.
(of news coverage) concentrating on trivial stories or those with human interest
22.
(phonetics)
  1. an older word for lenis
  2. (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)
  3. (in the Slavonic languages) palatalized before a front vowel or a special character (soft sign) written as Ь
23.
  1. unprotected against attack: a soft target
  2. (military) unarmoured, esp as applied to a truck by comparison with a tank
24.
(finance, mainly US) (of prices, a market, etc) unstable and tending to decline
25.
(of a currency) in relatively little demand, esp because of a weak balance of payments situation
26.
(of radiation, such as X-rays and ultraviolet radiation) having low energy and not capable of deep penetration of materials
27.
(physics) (of valves or tubes) only partially evacuated
28.
related to the performance of non-specific, undefinable tasks: soft skills such as customer services and office support
29.
soft on, soft about
  1. gentle, sympathetic, or lenient towards
  2. feeling affection or infatuation for
adverb
30.
in a soft manner: to speak soft
noun
31.
a soft object, part, or piece
32.
(informal) See softie
interjection (archaic)
33.
quiet!
34.
wait!
Derived Forms
softly, adverb
Word Origin
Old English sōfte; related to Old Saxon sāfti, Old High German semfti gentle
Word Origin and History for 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.

Slang definitions & phrases for soft

soft

adjective
  1. Nonaddictive, as drugs
  2. Stupid: soft in the head
Related Terms

walk soft


Related Abbreviations for soft

SOFT

Society of Forensic Toxicologists
Idioms and Phrases with soft

soft

also see:
hard (soft) sell