In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
SOFTEN
soften
(verb) become soft or softer; “The bread will soften if you pour some liquid on it”
soften
(verb) make soft or softer; “This liquid will soften your laundry”
dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break
(verb) lessen in force or effect; “soften a shock”; “break a fall”
mince, soften, moderate
(verb) make less severe or harsh; “He moderated his tone when the students burst out in tears”
cushion, buffer, soften
(verb) protect from impact; “cushion the blow”
soften
(verb) make (images or sounds) soft or softer
yield, relent, soften
(verb) give in, as to influence or pressure
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
soften (third-person singular simple present softens, present participle softening, simple past and past participle softened)
(transitive) To make something soft or softer.
(transitive) To undermine the morale of someone (often soften up).
(transitive) To make less harsh
(intransitive) To become soft or softer
Anagrams
• Sefton
Source: Wiktionary
Sof"ten, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Softened; p. pr. & vb. n. Softening.]
Definition: To make soft or more soft. Specifically: -- (a) To render less hard; -- said of matter. Their arrow's point they soften in the flame. Gay.
(b) To mollify; to make less fierce or intractable. Diffidence conciliates the proud, and softens the severe. Rambler.
(c) To palliate; to represent as less enormous; as, to soften a fault. (d) To compose; to mitigate; to assuage. Music can soften pain to ease. Pope. (e) To make calm and placid. All that cheers or softens life. Pope.
(f) To make less harsh, less rude, less offensive, or less violent, or to render of an opposite quality. He bore his great commision in his look, But tempered awe, and softened all he spoke. Dryden.
(g) To make less glaring; to tone down; as, to soften the coloring of a picture. (h) To make tender; to make effeminate; to enervate; as, troops softened by luxury. (i) To make less harsh or grating, or of a quality the opposite; as, to soften the voice.
Sof"ten, v. i.
Definition: To become soft or softened, or less rude, harsh, severe, or obdurate.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
24 December 2024
INTUITIVELY
(adverb) in an intuitive manner; “inventors seem to have chosen intuitively a combination of explosive and aggressive sounds as warning signals to be used on automobiles”
Coffee Trivia
