📕 With paper cover 📕 A paperback

softbound

1 4.1

Having a thin paper cover rather than a hard cover

adjective
/ˈsɔftˌbaʊnd/

: tapa blanda

I prefer reading softbound novels because they are lighter to carry.

Examples

The bookstore has a great selection of bestsellers available in softbound editions.
One, an oversized, softbound version, has fewer pages and isn't as in-depth as the hardcover.

Blog text (7)
This softbound textbook is more affordable than its hardcover counterpart.

Synonyms

softcover

vssoftbound

1 3.2

Having a soft, flexible cover like a paperback book

emphasizes paper as the cover material rather than general softness

paperbound

vssoftbound

1 3.9

A book with a paper cover instead of a hard cover

uses a flexible paper cover rather than a rigid hard cover

Antonyms

hardbound

1 3.5

A book with a hard cover that protects the pages

How Flexible

paperback

45 1.6

softbound

1 4.1

hardcover

5 2.3

Surface Forms

softbound positive

Morphology

softbound = soft + bound (transparent) = soft + bound

The meaning is directly built from 'soft' + 'bound' (i.e., having a soft binding), which a B1 learner can infer.

Etymology

The word softbound comes from the two simple parts soft and bound. Soft means 'not hard' and bound comes from 'bind', meaning 'tied or fastened', so a softbound book is one 'bound' with a 'soft' paper cover, like a paperback.