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Glite Dictionary
to soften up

to soften up

26 3.9
To make someone more willing to agree or make something easier to bend
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈsɔːfən ʌp/
  • Informal
: ablandar
  • And I'll take the bigger brush and just soften it up and blend it upwards.
  • soften up a little
  • soften up a bit
  • soften up the target

Now it's starting to soften up just a little bit.

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Examples

  • American political culture has already softened up the ground for the darker possibilities of these technological developments.

    Academic text (1997)

  • So this brush is clean, so I'm just going to soften up the edges.

  • And this water is going to be used to soften up this old paper.

  • Now it's starting to soften up just a little bit.

    Rosanna Pansino

  • I can soften up some of the language and make it read easier.

    Henry Fool (1998)

  • We stayed in Key West for another week, and every day Daddy softened up a little more, relaxing back into it.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I'm going to take this brush right here and just soften up those edges.

  • I did pre soak the seeds to help soften up the seed coat.

  • The leather jacket became more comfortable after I used conditioner to soften up the material.

  • If you want to convince your friend, try to soften up your tone when you talk to her.

Synonyms

to loosen
vsto soften up
185 1.0

Make something less tight so it can move or open

extends that idea to making people more open and agreeable
to lighten up
vsto soften up
  • Informal
111 4.1

To become or make someone feel more cheerful and relaxed

seeks increased agreeableness or leniency rather than mere cheerfulness
to loosen up
vsto soften up
  • Informal
86 3.4

To relax and become less nervous or tense

targets increased willingness to agree rather than only reduced tension
to relax
vsto soften up
81 1.0

To make or become less tight

also applies to changing people’s attitudes and making them more receptive
to ease up
vsto soften up
59 3.7

To make something less strong or strict

is more about encouraging acceptance or leniency than lowering pressure alone
to soften
vsto soften up
37 1.3

Become soft or make something soft

focuses on making people more willing and agreeable rather than texture change
to lighten
vsto soften up
36 2.5

To make a load or worry feel less heavy

focuses more on gaining agreement or pliability than simply reducing burden
to mellow
vsto soften up
35 4.0

To become or make something softer, gentler, and more pleasant

tends to aim at making others more receptive rather than slow mood change
to mollify
vsto soften up
9 7.2

To make someone less angry or upset

aims more at increasing willingness and leniency than only calming feeling
to slacken
vsto soften up
2 5.5

Become or make less tight, like a rope

includes easing people emotionally as well as reducing physical tightness
to modify
vsto soften up
2 3.5

Make something less strong or harsh

specifically aims to win agreement or leniency rather than general moderation
to sweeten the pill
vsto soften up
  • Informal
1 6.2

Make an unpleasant thing seem easier to accept by adding something pleasant

works more broadly to increase receptiveness rather than only improving presentation
to lenify
vsto soften up
  • Archaic
9.9

To make someone feel calmer or less angry

is more about changing openness and agreement than gentle tone alone

Antonyms

to harden
49 2.6

Make something hard or solid

to toughen up
  • Informal
26 4.2

To become or to make someone mentally stronger and less hurt by criticism

How Receptive

to win over
113 3.3
to cajole
18 7.7
to soften up
  • Informal
26 3.9
to mollify
9 7.2
to shatter the ice
  • Informal
1 4.1
to warm up
29 2.5

Surface Forms

soften up infinitive
softened up past
softened up past participle
softening up present participle
softens up third person singular

Morphology

soften + up

The verb 'soften' (make less hard or less strict) combined with the particle 'up' (completive/intensifying) yields a directly predictable sense of making something or someone more pliable or receptive. Both the literal use (soften butter) and the figurative use (soften someone up) follow straightforward compositional and metaphorical extension patterns that a B1 learner who knows the constituents is likely to infer.

Etymology

Soften up comes from the simple picture of making something less hard: soften means to make soft and up shows the action is done, like rain that softens hard ground so it is easier to dig. So when people try to soften up someone, they try to make that person more open or ready to say 'yes'.