# soft

Pronunciation: US say "SAWFT" /sɔft/; UK say "SOFT" /sɒft/

## Adjective

1. Giving way easily when pressed or pushed.
   - Simple: Easy to press in or bend without much force.
   - _The mattress was so soft that he sank right into it._
   - _Ripe peaches turn soft within a couple of days._
2. Smooth and flexible to the touch, rather than rough or coarse.
   - Simple: Smooth and bendy to the touch, not rough or hard.
   - _He bought a soft leather jacket that bent easily at the elbows._
   - _The scarf was woven from wool so soft it barely itched._
3. Gentle and mild in manner, action, or effect; not harsh, strong, or sharp.
   - Simple: Gentle and mild, not harsh, strong, or sharp.
   - _The wine had a soft finish without any sharp bitterness._
   - _He preferred a soft style of comedy that never went for shock._
4. Low in volume; quiet and not loud.
   - Simple: Low and quiet in sound, not loud.
   - _A soft knock at the door barely reached the back room._
   - _Her reply was so soft that he had to lean in to catch it._
5. Of light, color, or appearance: gentle and pleasant to look at, not bright, glaring, or harsh, with no sharp edges or shadows.
   - Simple: Gentle to look at, not too bright or sharp, like soft light or soft colors.
   - _Dawn broke with a soft pink that spread slowly across the sky._
   - _The designer favored soft pastels over bold primary tones._
7. Relating to people, influence, or qualities that resist measurement, as distinct from technical ability, force, or precise numbers.
   - Simple: About people and influence, and things you cannot easily measure, not technical skills, force, or numbers.
   - _Interviewers spent most of the hour probing her soft skills, such as leadership and handling conflict._
   - _Alongside the sales numbers, the report weighs soft factors like staff morale and customer trust._
8. Lacking toughness, courage, or strength of will; easily influenced or discouraged. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Not tough or strong-willed. Easily hurt, scared, or talked into things.
   - _The veterans on the team called the rookies soft after one tough drill._
   - _He hated being seen as soft, so he never admitted he was scared._
9. Lenient and easy-going rather than strict; permissive.
   - Simple: Not strict, and letting people do what they want.
   - _Critics accused the judge of being soft on repeat offenders._
   - _The board worried the policy was too soft to deter wrongdoing._
10. Containing no alcohol.
   - Simple: Having no alcohol in it.
   - _Since he was driving home after the wedding, he stuck to soft drinks for the rest of the night._
   - _The festival didn't allow alcohol, so the food stands sold only soft drinks, iced tea, and coffee._
11. Done only partially or provisionally, stopping short of the full action.
   - Simple: Not full or final, only partly done or just for now.
   - _The studio chose a soft launch in a few cities to test demand._
   - _The company did a soft launch of the app in two small cities, hoping to fix any bugs before the national release._
12. Feeling attracted to or emotionally attached to someone. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Having warm, loving feelings for someone you are attracted to.
   - _He turned red every time she walked into the office, and his friends teased him for being soft on her._
   - _She tried to hide just how soft she was on him._
13. Undemanding and comfortable, calling for little effort or hardship.
   - Simple: Easy, and needing very little hard work.
   - _Veterans were rewarded with soft assignments far from the front._
   - _He coasted through a soft schedule of light, undemanding classes._
14. Of water, containing little dissolved calcium and magnesium, so that soap lathers easily and little scale forms.
   - Simple: Of water, having little calcium or magnesium in it, so soap makes bubbles easily.
   - _Households with soft water use far less detergent to get a good lather._
   - _Because the town's water is so soft, soap lathers easily and the kettle never builds up any scale._
15. Of a photograph, lens, or focus, a little fuzzy and short on fine detail, at times intentionally to create a dreamy look.
   - Simple: Of a photo, lens, or focus, a little blurry and not sharp, sometimes on purpose to look dreamy.
   - _The cheap zoom lens is noticeably soft at the edges of the frame._
   - _The film's flashback scenes are shot in soft focus to suggest a half-remembered past._
16. Of a drug, classed as less harmful and less likely to cause addiction than hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
   - Simple: Of a drug, seen as less harmful or less addictive than hard drugs like heroin.
   - _Many regard marijuana as a soft drug, unlikely to produce dependence._
   - _Public debate continues over whether soft drugs should be legal._
17. Bent at only a slight angle; not sharply turned.
   - Simple: Bending only a little, not sharply.
   - _Follow the soft bend in the river until you reach the bridge._
   - _At the second light, take a soft left onto Maple Avenue and follow it past the school._
18. Of a market, having more supply than demand; favoring buyers over sellers.
   - Simple: Of a market, having more goods for sale than buyers want.
   - _Analysts called the labor market soft, with applicants far outnumbering openings._
   - _A soft market gave buyers room to negotiate lower prices._
19. Of c or g, sounded the way it is in city or gem, not the way it is in cat or go.
   - Simple: Of the letter c or g, said like the c in city or the g in gem, not like cat or go.
   - _In English spelling, c is usually soft before e, i, or y._
   - _Beginners often read "gem" with a hard g until a teacher points out that the g is soft._
20. Emulated in software rather than existing as physical hardware.
   - Simple: Made by software, not a real physical thing.
   - _The terminal uses a soft keyboard rendered on the touchscreen._
   - _Designers replaced the physical dials with soft controls on the panel._
21. Of pornographic material, featuring nudity or sexual suggestion but not explicit acts; softcore.
   - Simple: Of adult films, magazines, or pictures, showing nudity but not explicit sexual acts.
   - _The film was sold as soft porn, but critics said it was mostly a dull thriller with a few nude scenes._
   - _The director started out making soft porn for late-night cable before moving on to mainstream comedies._
22. Effeminate; lacking conventionally masculine qualities. *(UK)*
   - Simple: Seen as too gentle or feminine in a way not expected of a man.
   - _In the mining town where he grew up, a boy who wrote poetry and skipped football was considered soft, not quite a proper lad._
   - _They saw his soft manner as a sign he lacked manliness._
23. Overly empathetic or concerned with the wellbeing of others. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Caring too much about other people's feelings.
   - _His friends say he's gone soft, aching over every stranger's misfortune._
   - _She's far too soft to watch the news without tearing up._
24. Lacking good sense; foolish. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: Silly or foolish.
   - _His gran told him he was soft for believing the rumor._
   - _Only a soft lad would hand over his wages without a second thought._

## Noun

6. A sweet, nonalcoholic beverage, usually carbonated.
   - Simple: A sweet drink with no alcohol in it, usually fizzy.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of a ferromagnetic material, easily magnetized and just as easily demagnetized; having low coercivity.
- (noun) In motor racing, a tire whose rubber compound sits between the medium and the supersoft: softer than the first, harder than the second.
- (adjective) Of a consonant, pronounced with the vocal cords vibrating or with less force, as the th in "these."
- (adjective) Of a consonant, pronounced without the vocal cords vibrating, a less common use that is the reverse of the usual one.
- (adjective) In Slavic languages, of a consonant, pronounced with the tongue raised toward the hard palate.
- (adjective) Of paper, not treated with size, so that it soaks up ink.
- (adjective) Of silk, washed so that its natural gum has been removed.
- (adjective) Of coal, of the bituminous kind rather than the hard anthracite kind.
- (adjective) Of weather, mild enough that snow and ice start to melt.
- (interjection) Used to tell someone to stop, wait or keep quiet.
- (noun) A silly, weak-minded person, a fool.
- (noun) A gentle, low-volume sound, or the quieter portion of one.
- (noun) A computer program or app.
- (noun) Paper money, as opposed to coins.
- (adverb) In a gentle or quiet way, without harshness.

## Origin

Proto-Indo-European *sem- ("one, whole") probably lies at the root of Proto-West Germanic *samft(ī), meaning "level, even, smooth, soft, gentle." This gave Old English sēfte ("soft"), later altered to sōfte, which became Middle English softe. West Frisian sêft, Dutch zacht, and German sanft ("soft, yielding") are relatives.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/soft (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).