soft

soft
—softly, adv. —softness, n.
/sawft, soft/, adj., softer, softest, n., adv., interj.
adj.
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, esp. 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. Cf. firm1 (def. 7).
22. (of money) plentiful or available at low interest rates or on easy terms: a soft loan.
23. soft-core.
24. Metall.
a. (of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
b. (of solder) fusing readily.
c. (of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.
25. Photog.
a. (of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
b. (of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
c. (of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.
26. Phonet.
a. (of consonants) lenis, esp. lenis and voiced.
b. (of c and g) pronounced as in cent and gem.
c. (of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized. Cf. hard (def. 38).
27. Mil. (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. Cf. 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.
33. be soft on someone, Informal. to be amorously inclined toward a person; have an affection for: He's been soft on her for years.
n.
34. something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.
35. softness.
adv.
36. in a soft manner.
interj. Archaic.
37. be quiet! hush!
38. not so fast! stop!
[bef. 1000; ME softe yielding, gentle, mild, OE softe agreeable; c. G sanft]
Syn. 1. pliable, plastic, malleable. 5. mellifluous, dulcet, sweet. 10. tender, sympathetic. 11. mollifying. 15. weak, feeble. 17. compliant, irresolute, submissive.

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(as used in expressions)

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • soft — soft …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • soft — W2S2 [sɔft US so:ft] adj comparative softer superlative softest ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(not hard)¦ 2¦(not rough)¦ 3¦(not loud)¦ 4¦(colour/light)¦ 5¦(no hard edges)¦ 6¦(rain/wind)¦ 7¦(not strict)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Soft — (s[o^]ft; 115), a. [Compar. {Softer} (s[o^]ft [ e]r); superl. {Softest}.] [OE. softe, AS. s[=o]fte, properly adv. of s[=e]fte, adj.; akin to OS. s[=a]fto, adv., D. zacht, OHG. samfto, adv., semfti, adj., G. sanft, LG. sacht; of uncertain origin.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • soft´ly — soft «sft, soft», adjective, adverb, noun, interjection. –adj. 1. a) not hard; yielding readily to touch or pressure: »a soft tomato, soft ground, a soft bed. b) easily bent without breaking; not stiff; flexible: »Oil keeps leather soft.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • soft — [ sɔft ] adjective *** ▸ 1 not stiff/firm/rough ▸ 2 gentle/pleasant ▸ 3 kind/sympathetic/gentle ▸ 4 not difficult ▸ 5 about water ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) a soft substance is easy to press or shape and is not hard or firm: George tripped, falling into… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • soft — [sɒft ǁ sɒːft] adjective 1. COMMERCE soft goods are used up soon after they are bought, for example food products: • Ohio s manufacturing base covers a wide range of soft and hard goods. • a soft commodity trader 2. FINANCE soft loans or soft… …   Financial and business terms

  • soft — adj Soft, bland, mild, gentle, smooth, lenient, balmy are applied to things with respect to the sensations they evoke or the impressions they produce and mean pleasantly agreeable because devoid of all harshness or roughness. Soft is applied… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • soft — [sôft, säft] adj. [ME < OE softe, gentle, quiet < sefte, akin to Ger sanft < IE base * sem , together, together with > SMOOTH, SAME: basic sense “fitting, friendly, suited to”] 1. giving way easily under pressure, as a feather pillow… …   English World dictionary

  • soft — agg.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} 1. che ha caratteri o toni sfumati, tenui, attenuati: film soft, illuminazione soft, arredamento dalla linea soft 2. che comunica sensazioni gradevoli, piacevoli o rilassanti: musica soft, atmosfera, ambiente soft …   Dizionario italiano

  • soft — sȯft adj 1) yielding to physical pressure 2) deficient in or free from substances (as calcium and magnesium salts) that prevent lathering of soap <soft water> 3) having relatively low energy <soft X rays> 4) BIODEGRADABLE <soft… …   Medical dictionary

  • soft — Adj weich, sanft per. Wortschatz fremd. Erkennbar fremd (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus ne. soft, das mit sanft verwandt ist. Unter Software werden in der EDV Technik die nicht unmittelbar zu den Geräten gehörigen Gebrauchsteile (Programme usw …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

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