Search results for 'soft':

soft adj 1 easily yielding or changing shape when pressed; pliable or malleable. 2 easily yielding to pressure. 3 easily cut. 4 said of fabric, etc: having a smooth surface or texture producing little or no friction. 5 pleasing or soothing to the senses; quiet • a soft voice. 6 having little brightness; not glaring or brash • soft colours. 7 kind or sympathetic, especially excessively so. 8 not able to endure rough treatment or hardship. 9 lacking strength of character; easily influenced. 10 colloq weak in the mind; simple • soft in the head. 11 used especially in Liverpool: stupid or naive; weak • Don't be soft! 12 said of a person: out of training; in an unfit condition. 13 weakly sentimental. 14 mineralogy easily scratched. 15 said of water: low in or free from mineral salts and so lathering easily. 16 said of coal: bituminous. 17 tender; loving or affectionate • soft words. 18 colloq requiring little effort; easy • a soft job. 19 said of diet: consisting of semi-liquid and easily-digestible foods. 20 said of drugs: not severely addictive. 21 soft-core. 22 with moderate rather than hardline or extreme policies • the soft left. 23 phonetics, non-technical said of the consonants c and g: pronounced as a fricative as in dance and age respectively, rather than as a stop, as in can and gate. Compare hard adj. 24 finance a said of prices, markets, etc: inclined to drop in value; b said of currency: not in great demand, usually due to a weakness in the balance of payments system. 25 said of radiation: having short wavelengths and therefore not highly penetrating. 26 in computer typesetting and word-processing: referring to a space, hyphen (see soft hyphen) or page break that can be automatically removed when its environment changes to make it redundant. adverb softly; gently • speaks soft. softly adverb. softness noun. be or go soft on someone colloq 1 to be lenient towards them. 2 to be infatuated with them.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon softe.