soft
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
soft
adv 1: in a relaxed manner; or without hardship; "just wanted to
take it easy" (`soft' is nonstandard) [syn: {easy},
{soft}]
adj 1: yielding readily to pressure or weight [ant: {hard}]
2: compassionate and kind; conciliatory; "he was soft on his
children" [ant: {hard}]
3: (of sound) relatively low in volume; "soft voices"; "soft
music" [ant: {loud}]
4: easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin" [syn:
{delicate}, {soft}]
5: produced with vibration of the vocal cords; "a frequently
voiced opinion"; "voiced consonants such as `b' and `g' and
`z'"; [syn: {voiced}, {sonant}, {soft}] [ant: {hard}, {surd},
{unvoiced}, {voiceless}]
6: not protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons);
"soft targets" [ant: {hardened}]
7: used chiefly as a direction or description in music; "the
piano passages in the composition" [syn: {piano}, {soft}]
[ant: {forte}, {loud}]
8: (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected
[syn: {soft}, {diffuse}, {diffused}] [ant: {concentrated},
{hard}]
9: (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') [ant: {hard}]
10: (of a commodity or market or currency) falling or likely to
fall in value; "the market for computers is soft"
11: using evidence not readily amenable to experimental
verification or refutation; "soft data"; "the soft sciences"
12: tolerant or lenient; "indulgent parents risk spoiling their
children"; "too soft on the children"; "they are soft on
crime" [syn: {indulgent}, {lenient}, {soft}]
13: soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe; "a gentle
reprimand"; "a vein of gentle irony"; "poked gentle fun at
him" [syn: {gentle}, {soft}]
14: having little impact; "an easy pat on the shoulder"; "gentle
rain"; "a gentle breeze"; "a soft (or light) tapping at the
window" [syn: {easy}, {gentle}, {soft}]
15: 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" [syn: {soft},
{flabby}, {flaccid}]
16: willing to negotiate and compromise
17: 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" [syn: {cushy},
{soft}, {easygoing}]
18: mild and pleasant; "balmy days and nights"; "the climate was
mild and conducive to life or growth"; "a soft breeze" [syn:
{balmy}, {mild}, {soft}]
19: not brilliant or glaring; "the moon cast soft shadows";
"soft pastel colors"; "subdued lighting" [syn: {soft},
{subdued}]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Soft \Soft\ (s[o^]ft; 115), a. [Compar. {Softer}
(s[o^]ft"[~e]r); superl. {Softest}.] [OE. softe, AS.
s[=o]fte, properly adv. of s[=e]fte, adj.; akin to OS.
s[=a]fto, 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 {hard}; as, a soft bed; a soft
peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal.
[1913 Webster]
2. Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth;
delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin.
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They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses.
--Matt. xi. 8.
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3. Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating
to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. "The
soft, delicious air." --Milton.
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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.
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The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds .
. . made the softest lights imaginable. --Sir T.
Browne.
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5. Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the
ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music.
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Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low, -- an excellent thing in woman.
--Shak.
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Soft were my numbers; who could take offense?
--Pope.
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6. Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible;
gentle; kind.
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I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's;
Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine. --Shak.
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The meek or soft shall inherit the earth. --Tyndale.
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7. Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild;
conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes.
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A soft answer turneth away wrath. --Prov. xv. 1.
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A face with gladness overspread,
Soft smiles, by human kindness bred. --Wordsworth.
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8. Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak.
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A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution
of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft,
and wandering. --Jer. Taylor.
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9. Gentle in action or motion; easy.
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On her soft axle, white she paces even,
And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
--Milton.
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10. Weak in character; impressible.
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The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
--Glanvill.
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11. Somewhat weak in intellect. [Colloq.]
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He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as
were foolish quite mad. --Burton.
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12. Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers.
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13. Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not
angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.
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14. Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap;
as, soft water is the best for washing.
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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.
[1913 Webster]
{Soft clam} (Zool.), the common or long clam ({Mya
arenaria}). See {Mya}.
{Soft coal}, bituminous coal, as distinguished from
anthracite, or hard, coal.
{Soft crab} (Zool.), any crab which has recently shed its
shell.
{Soft dorsal} (Zool.), 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} (Zool.), 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} (Zool.), any river tortoise of the genus
Trionyx. See {Trionyx}.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
508 Moby Thesaurus words for "soft":
Mickey Mouse, accented, accepting, adoring, affectionate, afraid,
alveolar, anemic, apical, apico-alveolar, apico-dental,
articulated, assimilated, asthenic, at peace, baccate, back, balmy,
barely audible, barytone, bathetic, beery, benign, bilabial, bland,
bleeding, bloodless, blurred, blurry, borderline, broad, cacuminal,
calm, careless, casual, central, cerebral, charitable, checked,
chicken, chickenhearted, clear, clement, close, cloying,
comfortable, comfy, commiserative, commodious, compassionate,
complaisant, compressible, concordant, condolent, conjugal,
consonant, consonantal, contented, continuant, convenient, cottony,
coward, cowardly, cowed, cozy, creamy, cullible, cushioned,
cushiony, cushy, daft, dainty, daunted, debilitated, deceivable,
declining, decrescendo, deferential, delicate, deludable,
demonstrative, dental, depressed, devoted, diffused, dim, dirty,
dismayed, dissimilated, distant, docile, dorsal, doughy, downy,
drooping, droopy, dull, dupable, easeful, easy, easy as pie,
easygoing, effeminate, effete, effortless, eggshell, emotionable,
etiolated, exploitable, facile, faint, faint-voiced, fainthearted,
faintish, faithful, fatuous, fearful, feathery, feeble,
feebleminded, filial, fine, flabby, flaccid, flat, fleecy, fleshy,
flexible, flexile, flexuous, floppy, fluffy, foggy, fond, foolable,
foolish, forbearant, forbearing, forceless, forgiving, formless,
frail, friendly, front, funking, funky, furry, fuzzy, gentle, glib,
glide, gloss, glossal, glottal, gone, gone to seed, gooey, green,
gullible, gushing, gutless, guttural, halcyon, half-heard, hard,
harmless, heavy, henhearted, high, hoaxable, homelike, homely,
homey, hoodwinkable, human, humane, humbugable, husbandly, idyllic,
imbecile, impotent, imprecise, impressionable, indifferent,
indistinct, indulgent, infirm, ingenuous, intimidated, intonated,
iridescent, judicious, kind, labial, labiodental, labiovelar,
languid, languishing, languorous, lateral, lax, lazy, lenient,
liberal, light, lily-livered, limber, limp, lingual, liquid,
listless, lived-in, loose, lovelorn, lovesick, lovesome, loving,
low, low-key, lustless, luxurious, macerated, malleable,
marrowless, masticated, maternal, matte, maudlin, mawkish,
mellifluent, mellifluous, mellow, mellowy, melodious, melting,
merciful, mid, mild, mild as milk, milk-livered, milksoppish,
milksoppy, miry, moderate, mollified, monophthongal,
mother-of-pearl, mousy, mucky, muddy, muliebrous, murmured, mushy,
muted, nacreous, naive, namby-pamby, narrow, nasal, nasalized,
negligent, nerveless, nonalcoholic, nonintoxicating, nonresistive,
nonrigid, nonviolent, nostalgic, nostomanic, nothing to it,
occlusive, off, old-womanish, on the downgrade, oozy, opalescent,
open, opulent, orderly, out of condition, out of shape,
out of training, overindulgent, overpermissive, oversentimental,
oversentimentalized, overtimid, overtimorous, oxytone, pacific,
pacifistic, painless, palatal, palatalized, pale, pampered,
panic-prone, panicky, pappy, parental, passible, pastel, pastoral,
pasty, paternal, patient, patinaed, peaceable, peaceful, peacetime,
pearly, permissive, persuadable, pharyngeal, pharyngealized,
phonemic, phonetic, phonic, pianissimo, piano, pigeonhearted,
piping, pitch, pitched, pithless, pithy, pitying, plain, plashy,
plastic, pleasant, pliable, pliant, plush, plushy, pooped, posh,
posttonic, powerless, prissy, prudent, pulpal, pulpar, pulped,
pulplike, pulpy, puny, quaggy, questionable, quiet, rabbity,
receptive, relaxed, relaxing, remiss, reposeful, responsive,
restful, retroflex, rich, ritzy, romantic, roomy, rounded, rubbery,
run to seed, rusty, ruthful, sad, sapless, satiny, scarcely heard,
seduceable, semigloss, semivowel, sensible, sensitive, sentimental,
sentimentalized, serene, silken, silky, silly, simple,
simple as ABC, sinewless, sissified, sissy, sissyish, slabby,
slack, sleek, slipping, slipshod, slobby, sloppy, sloshy, sloughy,
slow, sludgy, slushy, smooth, snug, sober, soft as putty,
soft-colored, soft-hued, soft-sounding, soft-voiced, softened,
softhearted, somber, sonant, soothing, spineless, splashy, spongy,
sposhy, springlike, squashy, squelchy, squishy, squushy, sticky,
stiff, stopped, straightforward, strengthless, stressed, strong,
subaudible, subdued, submissive, subtle, succulent, summery,
supple, surd, susceptible, swanky, sweet, syllabic, sympathetic,
sympathizing, tame, tear-jerking, teary, temperate, tender,
tenderhearted, tense, thick, throaty, timid, timorous, tolerant,
tonal, tonic, tranquil, turbid, twangy, unaccented, unburdensome,
unclear, uncomplicated, undemanding, understanding, unhardened,
uninebriating, unmanly, unmanned, unnerved, unprofitable,
unrestrained, unrounded, unsophisticated, unstressed, unstrung,
untroubled, uxorious, velar, velvety, victimizable, vocalic,
vocoid, voiced, voiceless, vowel, vowellike, warm, warmhearted,
weak, weak-kneed, weak-minded, weak-voiced, weakhearted, weakly,
whisper-soft, whispered, white-livered, wide, wifely, witless,
womanish, woolly, workable, yellow, yielding
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