soft

soft
softly, adv.softness, n.
/sawft, soft/, adj., softer, softest, n., adv., interj.
adj.
1. yielding readily to touch or pressure; easily penetrated, divided, or changed in shape; not hard or stiff: a soft pillow.
2. relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.
3. smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse: a soft fabric; soft skin.
4. producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable: soft slumber.
5. low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious: soft music; a soft voice.
6. not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring: soft light; a soft color.
7. not hard or sharp: soft outlines.
8. gentle or mild: soft breezes.
9. genial or balmy, as climate or air.
10. gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate: a soft, grandmotherly woman.
11. smooth, soothing, or ingratiating: soft words.
12. not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.
13. responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.
14. sentimental or flowery, as language: soft, meaningless talk.
15. not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion: He was too soft for the Marines.
16. Informal. easy; involving little effort; not difficult, laborious, trying, or severe: a soft job.
17. Informal. easily influenced or swayed; easily imposed upon; impressionable.
18. lenient, permissive, or conciliatory, esp. regarding something that is conceived of as dangerous or threatening: to be soft on Communism.
19. (of water) relatively free from mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.
20. (of paper money or a monetary system) not supported by sufficient gold reserves or not easily convertible into a foreign currency.
21. (of a market, market condition, or prices) declining in value, volume, profitability, etc.; weak: a soft tourist season. Cf. firm1 (def. 7).
22. (of money) plentiful or available at low interest rates or on easy terms: a soft loan.
23. soft-core.
24. Metall.
a. (of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
b. (of solder) fusing readily.
c. (of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.
25. Photog.
a. (of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
b. (of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
c. (of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.
26. Phonet.
a. (of consonants) lenis, esp. lenis and voiced.
b. (of c and g) pronounced as in cent and gem.
c. (of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized. Cf. hard (def. 38).
27. Mil. (of a missile-launching base) aboveground and relatively unprotected from enemy attack.
28. Aerospace. (of a landing of a space vehicle) gentle; not harmful to the vehicle or its contents: a soft landing on the moon.
29. Physics. (of a beam of particles or electromagnetic radiation) having relatively low energy: soft x-rays. Cf. hard (def. 40).
30. (of a delegate, voter, etc.) not committed to any one candidate.
31. foolish or stupid: soft in the head.
32. (of a detergent) readily biodegradable.
33. be soft on someone, Informal. to be amorously inclined toward a person; have an affection for: He's been soft on her for years.
n.
34. something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.
35. softness.
adv.
36. in a soft manner.
interj. Archaic.
37. be quiet! hush!
38. not so fast! stop!
[bef. 1000; ME softe yielding, gentle, mild, OE softe agreeable; c. G sanft]
Syn. 1. pliable, plastic, malleable. 5. mellifluous, dulcet, sweet. 10. tender, sympathetic. 11. mollifying. 15. weak, feeble. 17. compliant, irresolute, submissive.

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(as used in expressions)

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • soft — W2S2 [sɔft US so:ft] adj comparative softer superlative softest ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(not hard)¦ 2¦(not rough)¦ 3¦(not loud)¦ 4¦(colour/light)¦ 5¦(no hard edges)¦ 6¦(rain/wind)¦ 7¦(not strict)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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  • soft — adj Soft, bland, mild, gentle, smooth, lenient, balmy are applied to things with respect to the sensations they evoke or the impressions they produce and mean pleasantly agreeable because devoid of all harshness or roughness. Soft is applied… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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  • soft — Adj weich, sanft per. Wortschatz fremd. Erkennbar fremd (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus ne. soft, das mit sanft verwandt ist. Unter Software werden in der EDV Technik die nicht unmittelbar zu den Geräten gehörigen Gebrauchsteile (Programme usw …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

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