soft

soft
adjective
1 NOT HARD
a) not hard or firm, but easy to press: a soft pillow | My feet sank into the soft ground. | get/go soft: Cook the onions until they go soft.
b) less hard than average: a soft lead pencil | a soft cheese
2 NOT ROUGH having a surface that is smooth and pleasant to touch: a baby's soft skin | The fur was soft to the touch.
3 NOT LOUD a soft sound, voice, or music is quiet and pleasant to listen to: a whisper so soft that I could hardly hear it | a soft accent
4 NOT BRIGHT (only before noun) soft colours or lights are pleasant and relaxing because they are not too bright: Soft lighting creates a romantic atmosphere. | The room was a soft peach colour.
5 VIOLENT gentle and without much force: a soft breeze
6 TOO EASY informal a soft job, life etc is too easy and does not involve much work or hard physical work: Mike's landed himself a soft job in the stores. | soft option (=a choice that allows you to avoid difficulties or hard work): The computer course isn't a soft option - it's pretty tough. | If you agree, you're taking the soft option.
7 NOT STRICT someone who is soft seems weak because they are not strict enough with other people: If you give way, the kids'll think you're soft. | be soft on: No politician wants to seem soft on crime. | take a soft line (=not be strict enough): Courts have been taking too soft a line with young offenders
—opposite tough 1
8 WATER not containing much lime 1 (3) so that it forms bubbles (bubble1 (1)) from soap easily
9 PHYSICAL CONDITION informal having a body that is not in a strong physical condition, because you do not do enough exercise: He'd got soft after all those years in a desk job.
10 have a soft spot for to be fond of someone even when they do not behave well: She's always had a soft spot for Grant.
11 a soft touch informal someone from whom you can easily get money, because they are kind or easy to deceive: The children regard their aunt as a bit of a soft touch.
12 STUPID BrE stupid or silly: You must be soft if you think I'll give you fifty quid!
13 soft in the head old-fashioned very stupid or crazy
14 be soft on old-fashioned to be sexually attracted to someone
— softly adverb: She stroked his head softly. | Music played softly in the background. — softness noun (U)

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • soft — soft …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • 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

  • 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.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • soft´ly — soft «sft, soft», adjective, adverb, noun, interjection. –adj. 1. a) not hard; yielding readily to touch or pressure: »a soft tomato, soft ground, a soft bed. b) easily bent without breaking; not stiff; flexible: »Oil keeps leather soft.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • soft — [ sɔft ] adjective *** ▸ 1 not stiff/firm/rough ▸ 2 gentle/pleasant ▸ 3 kind/sympathetic/gentle ▸ 4 not difficult ▸ 5 about water ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) a soft substance is easy to press or shape and is not hard or firm: George tripped, falling into… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • soft — [sɒft ǁ sɒːft] adjective 1. COMMERCE soft goods are used up soon after they are bought, for example food products: • Ohio s manufacturing base covers a wide range of soft and hard goods. • a soft commodity trader 2. FINANCE soft loans or soft… …   Financial and business terms

  • 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

  • soft — [sôft, säft] adj. [ME < OE softe, gentle, quiet < sefte, akin to Ger sanft < IE base * sem , together, together with > SMOOTH, SAME: basic sense “fitting, friendly, suited to”] 1. giving way easily under pressure, as a feather pillow… …   English World dictionary

  • soft — agg.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} 1. che ha caratteri o toni sfumati, tenui, attenuati: film soft, illuminazione soft, arredamento dalla linea soft 2. che comunica sensazioni gradevoli, piacevoli o rilassanti: musica soft, atmosfera, ambiente soft …   Dizionario italiano

  • soft — sȯft adj 1) yielding to physical pressure 2) deficient in or free from substances (as calcium and magnesium salts) that prevent lathering of soap <soft water> 3) having relatively low energy <soft X rays> 4) BIODEGRADABLE <soft… …   Medical dictionary

  • 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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