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soft

soft

205 2.0
Not strict and willing to allow mistakes
  • adjective
  • /sɔft/
translation icon : blando
  • While she was having coffee, she heard a soft, hesitant voice speak her name.
  • soft power
  • a soft approach
  • too soft

My, my mum was the soft loving parent.

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Examples

  • Now all of a sudden you got a soft spot for this guy.

  • My, my mum was the soft loving parent.

  • And I want you to remember that soft is the approach.

  • We just have to hold on now and not go soft inside... stick close together the way we started out.

  • Well, Mr. Cool Hand here is the soft heart in our loan department.

  • Your heart should be open, soft, you know, not crumbly and tough.

  • Students must also possess "soft skills" in order to be successful at the postsecondary level.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Seth was fully satisfied with Daimler's academic pedigree and the soft-spoken way in which he described it.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • You're soft, you're sensitive.

  • The teacher took a soft approach to discipline, allowing the students to express their feelings.

Synonyms

easy
vssoft
939 1.0

Calm and relaxed, not harsh

concerns rule flexibility and willingness to compromise not comfort
gentle
vssoft
235 1.0

Kind and not strong in action, sound, or touch

is about not being strict and willing to compromise
mild
vssoft
72 3.3

A person who is gentle and not forceful

is about reducing strictness and finding compromise not passivity
indulgent
vssoft
36 6.1

Willing to let someone have what they want, even if it is not good for them

balances kindness with compromise and avoids excessive permission
lenient
vssoft
32 4.4

Not strict about rules and punishment

is more willing to compromise rather than strictly punish
softhearted
vssoft
1 3.4

A person who feels sorry for others and helps them

is focused on relaxed rules and ready compromise rather than emotion

Antonyms

1.1

Needing a lot of effort and often strict or severe

359 3.2

Not allowing any exceptions and requiring rules to be followed exactly

68 4.2

Very strict and harsh when judging or punishing people

Idioms

35 8.0

Too kind to someone and not strict when they behave badly

Very soft to the touch like velvet

Compounds

40 1.0

A drink without alcohol that has bubbles, like soda or lemonade

soft money
  • Jargon
31 8.3

Funds people give to parties or groups to influence elections instead of giving it directly to candidates

soft spot
  • Informal
31 3.6

A strong liking for someone or something

soft spot
  • Informal
5 4.4

A weak part of a person, thing, or system that can be easily harmed

4 3.1

A warm, soft baked snack shaped like a twisted loop with coarse salt

soft palate
  • Specialized
3 5.7

Part at the back of the mouth that lifts to close the nose when you swallow or speak

A crab with a soft new shell that people often eat whole

soft spot
  • Specialized
2 6.1

A soft area on a baby's head where the skull bones have not joined

soft underbelly
  • Informal
2 6.7

A weak part of a plan or organization that others can easily take advantage of

1 3.9

A gentle way to encourage people to buy something

Easy to press and feels like a sponge

1 6.0

A market with more goods for sale than buyers, so sellers get lower prices

1 3.7

A gentle way of touching or handling people and objects

soft copy
  • Specialized
1 3.2

An electronic file of a document you view on a computer

1 2.9

A set of soft foods that people with chewing or swallowing problems can eat

Food that is soft to touch with a sticky, melted inside

soft drug
  • NSFW
1 4.8

A drug with mild effects, for example cannabis, that does not often cause addiction

soft goods
  • Jargon
1 3.0

Clothing, towels, sheets, and other fabric items sold in stores

1 1.3

A small round bread made with yeast that has a soft crust and soft inside

1 2.8

Light, flexible shoes worn for dancing or indoor use

soft soap
  • Informal
1 7.6

Insincere praise used to try to influence someone

soft water
  • Specialized
1 3.5

Water that contains few minerals and makes soap foam easily

1 3.3

A book with thin, flexible paper on the outside rather than a hard cover

A crab that recently shed its shell so it is soft and people eat it whole

soft-nosed
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A bullet with a soft tip that expands when it hits something to cause more damage

1 7.0

A style of dance with smooth, light steps done while wearing soft, quiet shoes

brown soft scale
  • Specialized
8.5

A small brown insect that lives on plants, drinks their juice and weakens them

A soft grass with velvety leaves that spreads across meadows and woods

soft coal
  • Specialized
6.1

A dark fuel that burns easily and makes a lot of smoke

soft corn
  • Specialized
5.6

Corn with kernels that are mostly soft and grind easily into flour

Feels squishy and a little wet when pressed

8.6

A tall water plant with long leaves and a brown, stick-like flower head

soft Muzak
  • Archaic
6.3

Quiet music without singing played in public places to make people feel calm

soft news
  • Literature
3.4

Stories that are entertaining or about people's lives, not serious events

A light warm yellow-brown color like soft sand

soft glass
  • Specialized
5.5

A type of glass that melts at a lower temperature and is easy to shape

soft glass
  • Specialized
7.6

A thick material of tiny particles that behaves like a solid and flows very slowly

A soft frozen dessert that comes from a machine, often in a cone

A plan that makes people or machines stop working without causing death and without causing damage

An easier choice people make to avoid hard work or trouble

soft ordnance
  • Specialized
7.8

A weapon that is not meant to kill people and is used for training and to control crowds

soft rot
  • Specialized
5.9

A mushy, slimy decay of plant parts caused by bacteria or fungi

8.9

A tall grass-like plant with soft upright stems that grows in wet places

soft sawder
  • Specialized
9.1

A metal that melts at low heat used to join metal parts, often in electronics

soft scale
  • Specialized
8.9

A small insect with a soft, waxy covering that lives on plant stems and leaves

A foot control on a piano that makes the sound softer

soft roe
  • Specialized
8.6

A soft, creamy part of a fish that holds sperm and people eat

A shadow with no sharp edges because the light spreads

A plant with soft feathery leaves that people grow in gardens for decoration

soft tick
  • Specialized
9.7

A small blood-sucking animal without a hard shell on its back that bites animals and birds

soft touch
  • Offensive
7.0

A person who easily agrees and can be taken advantage of

soft sign
  • Specialized
9.9

A Cyrillic letter that makes the consonant before it sound with the tongue near the roof of the mouth

3.7

A mild soap made from plant oils for sensitive skin

soft solder
  • Specialized
5.3

A metal that melts at low heat to join metals in pipes and electronics

soft tree fern
  • Australian
7.8

A tall fern with a trunk and feathery leaves that grows in cool, shady places

soft wheat
  • Specialized
3.0

A type of wheat with soft kernels used for cakes and cookies

A light, soft pale loaf often used for sandwiches and toast

Light that is white and gentle, not harsh on the eyes

A book with a flexible paper cover instead of a hard cover

soft-cast steel
  • Specialized
5.1

Steel with very little carbon that is easy to shape

A medium-sized Irish dog with a soft, light brown coat and a very hairy head

soft-finned
  • Specialized
8.1

With fins that are soft and flexible rather than hard and spiny

soft-finned fish
  • Specialized
7.2

A fish with soft, flexible fins like salmon

A water turtle with a flat soft shell that lives in rivers and lakes and bites hard

A smooth, graceful tap dance done in shoes with soft soles

A small sea animal with a thin fragile shell that people eat

A smooth, gentle tap dance that uses soft-soled shoes

How Strict

strict
359 3.2
firm
73 2.7
soft
205 2.0
lenient
32 4.4
permissive
  • Jargon
14 4.9

Surface Forms

soft positive
softer comparative
softest superlative

Etymology

Soft meant 'gentle' long ago, so calling someone soft says they are not strict or severe but more willing to be gentle or forgive, which is why the word now means lenient.