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Glite Dictionary
soft diet

soft diet

1 2.9
A set of soft foods that people with chewing or swallowing problems can eat
  • noun
  • /sɔft daɪət/
translation icon : dieta blanda
  • For the first few weeks after the procedure, he was prescribed a soft diet to make eating easier.

Examples

  • He maintained normal ABGs, began getting out of bed to the chair via pneumatic lift, and was tolerating a soft diet.

    Academic text (2005)

  • He sticks to a soft diet because of a nameless stomach problem.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • After his surgery, the doctor recommended that he follow a soft diet to aid his recovery.

  • Due to her dental issues, she has to stick to a soft diet that avoids tough foods.

Synonyms

bland diet
vssoft diet
1 3.5

A set of plain, mild foods that are easy to digest

focuses more on food texture that is easy to chew and swallow
light diet
vssoft diet
3.2

Food that is easy to digest and avoids fried or spicy foods for people recovering from illness

focuses on foods easy to chew and swallow rather than on recovery needs

How Soft

liquid diet
4 4.1
puree
29 3.0
soft diet
1 2.9

Surface Forms

soft diet singular
soft diets plural

Morphology

soft + diet

The meaning is directly compositional: 'soft' modifies 'diet' to indicate a diet made up of soft/easy-to-chew foods, which a learner who knows both words can readily infer. This is a straightforward adjective+noun combination and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents (e.g., Spanish 'dieta blanda'), so it is immediately predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Soft diet comes from the clear image of a diet made of soft foods like mashed potatoes or porridge that need little chewing. Doctors often ask people to follow a soft diet after dental work or when they have trouble swallowing, so it means 'a plan of food that is easy to chew and swallow'.