SOFT

soft, subdued

(adjective) not brilliant or glaring; “the moon cast soft shadows”; “soft pastel colors”; “subdued lighting”

balmy, mild, soft

(adjective) mild and pleasant; “balmy days and nights”; “the climate was mild and conducive to life or growth”; “a soft breeze”

cushy, soft, easygoing

(adjective) not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship; “what a cushy job!”; “the easygoing life of a parttime consultant”; “a soft job”

soft

(adjective) willing to negotiate and compromise

soft, flabby, flaccid

(adjective) out of condition; not strong or robust; incapable of exertion or endurance; “he was too soft for the army”; “flabby around the middle”; “flaccid cheeks”

soft

(adjective) yielding readily to pressure or weight

soft

(adjective) compassionate and kind; conciliatory; “he was soft on his children”

soft

(adjective) (of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the hard palate; characterized by a hissing or hushing sound (as ‘s’ and ‘sh’)

soft, diffuse, diffused

(adjective) (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected

easy, gentle, soft

(adjective) having little impact; “an easy pat on the shoulder”; “gentle rain”; “a gentle breeze”; “a soft (or light) tapping at the window”

soft

(adjective) (of sound) relatively low in volume; “soft voices”; “soft music”

piano, soft

(adjective) (used chiefly as a direction or description in music) soft; in a quiet, subdued tone; “the piano passages in the composition”

soft

(adjective) not protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons); “soft targets”

gentle, soft

(adjective) soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe; “a gentle reprimand”; “a vein of gentle irony”; “poked gentle fun at him”

indulgent, lenient, soft

(adjective) tolerant or lenient; “indulgent parents risk spoiling their children”; “too soft on the children”; “they are soft on crime”

soft

(adjective) using evidence not readily amenable to experimental verification or refutation; “soft data”; “the soft sciences”

voiced, sonant, soft

(adjective) produced with vibration of the vocal cords; “a frequently voiced opinion”; “voiced consonants such as ‘b’ and ‘g’ and ‘z’”

delicate, soft

(adjective) easily hurt; “soft hands”; “a baby’s delicate skin”

soft

(adjective) (of a commodity or market or currency) falling or likely to fall in value; “the market for computers is soft”

easy, soft

(adverb) in a relaxed manner; or without hardship; “just wanted to take it easy”; “the judge went easy on the young defendant”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

soft (comparative softer, superlative softest)

Easily giving way under pressure.

(of cloth or similar material) Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.

(of a sound) Quiet.

Gentle.

Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.

Gentle in action or motion; easy.

Weak in character; impressible.

Requiring little or no effort; easy.

Not bright or intense.

Having a slight angle from straight.

(linguistics) Voiced; sonant.

(linguistics, rare) voiceless

(linguistics, Slavic languages) palatalized

(slang) Lacking strength or resolve; not tough, wimpy.

(of water) Low in dissolved calcium compounds.

(UK, colloquial) Foolish.

(physics) Of a ferromagnetic material; a material that becomes essentially non-magnetic when an external magnetic field is removed, a material with a low magnetic coercivity. (compare hard)

(of a person) Physically or emotionally weak.

Incomplete, or temporary; not a full action.

(UK, of a man) Effeminate.

Agreeable to the senses.

Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring or jagged; pleasing to the eye.

(photography, of light) Made up of nonparallel rays, tending to wrap around a subject and produce diffuse shadows.

(computing) Emulated with software; not physically real.

Synonyms

• (giving way under pressure): see soft

• (of a cloth): non-abrasive, fluffy

• (gentle): gentle, light, nesh

• (of a sound): quiet

• (lacking strength or resolve): meek, mild, wimpy, nesh

• (foolish): daft, foolish, silly, stupid

Antonyms

• (giving way under pressure): hard, resistant, solid, stony

• (of a cloth): abrasive, scratchy

• (gentle): harsh, rough, strong

• (acute): hard

• (of a sound): loud

• (lacking strength or resolve): firm, strict, tough

• (of water): hard

• (foolish): sensible

Interjection

soft

(archaic) Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

Adverb

soft (comparative more soft, superlative most soft)

(obsolete) Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.

Noun

soft (plural softs)

A soft or foolish person; an idiot.

(motorsports) Ellipsis of soft tyre. (A tyre whose compound is softer than mediums, and harder than supersofts.)

Source: Wiktionary

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Soft, a. [Compar. Softer; superl. Softest.] Etym: [OE. softe, AS. s, properly adv. of s, adj.; akin to OS. safto, adv., D. zacht, OHG. samfto, adv., semfti, adj., G. sanft, LG. sacht; of uncertain origin.]

1. Easily yielding to pressure; easily impressed, molded, or cut; not firm in resisting; impressible; yielding; also, malleable; -- opposed to Ant: hard; as, a soft bed; a soft peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal.

2. Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth; delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin. They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses. Matt. xi. 8.

3. Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. "The soft, delicious air." Milton.

4. Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring; pleasing to the eye; not exciting by intensity of color or violent contrast; as, soft hues or tints. The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds . . . made the softest lights imaginable. Sir T. Browne.

5. Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music. Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low, -- an excellent thing in woman. Shak. Soft were my numbers; who could take offense Pope.

6. Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible; gentle; kind. I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's; Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine. Shak. The meek or soft shall inherit the earth. Tyndale.

7. Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Prov. xv. 1. A face with gladness overspread, Soft smiles, by human kindness bred. Wordsworth.

8. Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak. A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering. Jer. Taylor.

9. Gentle in action or motion; easy. On her soft axle, white she paces even, And bears thee soft with the smooth air along. Milton.

10. Weak in character; impressible. The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's. Glanvill.

11. Somewhat weak in intellect. [Colloq.] He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad. Burton.

12. Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers.

13. Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.

14. Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap; as, soft water is the best for washing.

15. (Phonetics) (a) Applied to a palatal, a sibilant, or a dental consonant (as g in gem, c in cent, etc.) as distinguished from a guttural mute (as g in go, c in cone, etc.); -- opposed to hard. (b) Belonging to the class of sonant elements as distinguished from the surd, and considered as involving less force in utterance; as, b, d, g, z, v, etc., in contrast with p, t, k, s, f, etc. Soft clam (Zoöl.), the common or long clam (Mya arenaria). See Mya.

– Soft coal, bituminous coal, as distinguished from anthracite, or hard, coal.

– Soft crab (Zoöl.), any crab which has recently shed its shell.

– Soft dorsal (Zoöl.), the posterior part of the dorsal fin of fishes when supported by soft rays.

– Soft grass. (Bot.) See Velvet grass.

– Soft money, paper money, as distinguished from coin, or hard money. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Soft mute. (Phonetics) See Media.

– Soft palate. See the Note under Palate.

– Soft ray (Zoöl.), a fin ray which is articulated and usually branched.

– Soft soap. See under Soap.

– Soft-tack, leavened bread, as distinguished from hard-tack, or ship bread.

– Soft tortoise (Zoöl.), any river tortoise of the genus Trionyx. See Trionyx.

Soft, n.

Definition: A soft or foolish person; an idiot. [Colloq.] G. Eliot.

Soft, adv.

Definition: Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly. Chaucer. A knight soft riding toward them. Spenser.

Soft, interj.

Definition: Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast. Soft, you; a word or two before you go. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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