softness
1
7.9
- noun
- /ˈsɔːftnəs/
- Slur
:
[OFENSIVO] afeminidad
- His reluctance to engage in confrontations was viewed as a sign of softness in a traditionally tough environment.
- feminine softness
Examples
-
People blame the fall of the West on Christian softness, and they're right.
Blog text (15) -
The right wing has always taken advantage of liberal "softness," unwillingness to stand up to them, which is standing up for freedom and human rights.
Blog text (11) -
One sent a boy to Groton to save him from the selfishness and softness of his secure place.
Academic text (1996) -
He was a middle-aged man, running to weight and softness.
Fiction book (1991) -
FAIR thought that Castillo's "softness" had much to do with his excessive "liberalism" toward undocumented residents.
Academic text (2001) -
The late Barry Rubin, who was present, subsequently commented: "Unaccustomed to being attacked for excessive softness on Israel, Aziz looked astonished."
Academic text (2015) -
He cooked meals for his father, played checkers with him, and laundered his work underpants, as if he read a softness and weakness in him no one else could see.
Fiction book (1994) -
Many critics argue that his emotional openness and gentleness are signs of softness rather than strength.
-
The coach warned his team that any sign of softness would be exploited by their opponents.
Synonyms
1
9.1
A quality of having traits seen as typical of women and thought not manly in men
The state of being seen as not brave or strong by other people
A quality of being like a woman often used to criticise a man
Antonyms
How Masculine
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Softness comes from the old word soft plus the ending -ness meaning 'quality', and soft was used to mean 'not hard or tough', so people used it to describe a lack of the usual strength expected of men. So this sense of softness means the 'quality of being seen as not traditionally strong' and is often used as an insult.