Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Soft

Soft

(sŏft; 115)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Softer
(sŏft′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Softest
.]
[OE.
softe
, AS.
sōfte
, properly adv. of
sēfte
, adj.; akin to OS.
sāfto
, 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.
2.
Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth; delicate; fine;
as,
soft
silk; a
soft
skin.
They that wear
soft
clothing are in king’s houses.
Matt. xi. 8.
3.
Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues;
as, a
soft
liniment;
soft
wines
.
“The soft, delicious air.”
Milton.
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
.
The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds . . . made the
softest
lights imaginable.
Sir T. Browne.
5.
Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the ear; flowing;
as,
soft
whispers of music
.
Her voice was ever
soft
,
Gentle, and low, – an excellent thing in woman.
Shakespeare
Soft
were my numbers; who could take offense?
Pope.
6.
Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible; gentle; kind.
I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's;
Or Edward's
soft
and pitiful, like mine.
Shakespeare
The meek or
soft
shall inherit the earth.
Tyndale.
7.
Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind;
as,
soft
eyes
.
A
soft
answer turneth away wrath.
Prov. xv. 1.
A face with gladness overspread,
Soft
smiles, by human kindness bred.
Wordsworth.
8.
Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak.
A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose,
soft
, and wandering.
Jer. Taylor.
9.
Gentle in action or motion; easy.
On her
soft
axle, white she paces even,
And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
Milton.
10.
Weak in character; impressible.
The deceiver soon found this
soft
place of Adam's.
Glanvill.
11.
Somewhat weak in intellect.
[Colloq.]
He made
soft
fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
Burton.
12.
Quiet; undisturbed; paceful;
as,
soft
slumbers
.
13.
Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt;
as,
soft
outlines
.
14.
Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap;
as,
soft
water is the best for washing
.
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.
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
.

Soft

,
Noun.
A soft or foolish person; an idiot.
[Colloq.]
G. Eliot.

Soft

,
adv.
Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.
Chaucer.
A knight
soft
riding toward them.
Spenser.

Soft

,
int
erj.
Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
Soft
, you; a word or two before you go.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Soft

SOFT

,
Adj.
1.
Easily yielding to pressure ; the contrary of hard; as a soft bed; a soft peach; soft earth.
2.
Not hard; easily separated by an edged instrument; as soft wood. The chestnut is a soft wood, but more durable than hickory, with is a very hard wood. So we say, a soft stone, when it breaks or is hewed with ease.
3.
Easily worked; malleable; as soft iron.
4.
Not rough, rugged or harsh; smooth to the touch; delicate; as soft silk; soft raiment a soft skin.
5.
Delicate; feminine; as the softer sex.
6.
Easily yielding to persuasion or motives flexible; susceptible of influence or passion. In both these senses, soft is appiled to females, and sometimes males; as a divine of a soft and servile temper. One king is too soft and easy.
7.
Tender; timorous. However soft within themselves they are, to you they will be valiant be despair.
8.
Mild; gentle; kind; not severe or unfeeling; as a person of a soft nature.
9.
Civil; complaisant; courteous; as a person of soft manners. He has a soft way of asking favors.
10.
Placid; still; easy. On her soft axie while whe paces even, she bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
11.
Effeminate; viciouly nice. An idle soft course of life is the source of crminal pleasures.
12.
Delicate; elegantly tender. Her form more soft and feminine.
13.
Weak; impressible. The deceive soon found this soft place of Adam's [Not elegant.]
14.
Gentle; smooth or melodious to the ear. not loud, rough or harsh; as a soft voice or note; a soft sound; soft accents; soft whispers.
15.
Smooth; flowing; not rough or vehement. The solemn nightingale tun'd her soft lays. Soft were my numbers, who could take offense?
16.
Easy; quiet; undisturbed; as soft slumbers.
17.
Mild to the eye; not strong or glaring; as soft colors; the soft coloring of a picture. The sun shining on the upper part of the clounds, made the softes light imaginable.
18.
Mild; warm; pleasant to the feelings; as soft air.
19.
Not tinged with an acid; not hard; not astringent; as, soft water is the best for washing.
20.
Mild; gentle; not rough, rude or irritating. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Prov. 15.

SOFT

,
adv.
Softly; gently; quietly.

Definition 2024

soft

soft

See also: -soft

English

Adjective

soft ‎(comparative softer, superlative softest)

  1. Easily giving way under pressure.
    My head sank easily into the soft pillow.
  2. (of cloth or similar material) Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.
    Polish the silver with a soft cloth to avoid scratching.
    soft silk; a soft skin
    • Bible, Matt. xi. 8
      They that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
  3. (of a sound) Quiet.
    I could hear the soft rustle of the leaves in the trees.
    • Shakespeare
      Her voice was ever soft, / Gentle, and low, — an excellent thing in woman.
  4. Gentle.
    There was a soft breeze blowing.
    • Shakespeare
      I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's; / Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine.
    • Tyndale
      The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.
  5. Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.
    soft eyes
    • Bible, Proverbs xv. 1
      A soft answer turneth away wrath.
    • Wordsworth
      A face with gladness overspread, / Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.
  6. Gentle in action or motion; easy.
    • Milton
      On her soft axle, white she paces even, / And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
  7. Weak in character; impressible.
    • Glanvill
      The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
  8. Requiring little or no effort; easy.
    a soft job
  9. Not bright or intense.
    soft lighting
  10. Having a slight angle from straight.
    At the intersection with two roads going left, take the soft left.
    It's important to dance on soft knees to avoid injury.
  11. (linguistics) Voiced; sonant.
  12. (linguistics, rare) voiceless
  13. (linguistics, Slavic languages) palatalized
  14. (slang) Lacking strength or resolve, wimpy.
    When it comes to drinking, he is as soft as they come.
  15. (of water) Low in dissolved calcium compounds.
    You won't need as much soap, as the water here is very soft.
  16. (Britain, colloquial) Foolish.
    • Burton
      He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
  17. (physics) Of a ferromagnetic material; a material that becomes essentially non magnetic when an external magnetic field is removed, a material with a low magnetic coercivity. (compare hard)
  18. (of a person) Physically or emotionally weak.
  19. Incomplete, or temporary; not a full action.
    The admin imposed a soft block/ban on the user or a soft lock on the article.
  20. (Britain, of a man) Effeminate.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering.
  21. Agreeable to the senses.
    a soft liniment
    soft wines
    • Milton
      the soft, delicious air
  22. Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring or jagged; pleasing to the eye.
    soft colours
    the soft outline of the snow-covered hill
    • Sir Thomas Browne
      The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds […] made the softest lights imaginable.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Interjection

soft

  1. (archaic) Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
    • Shakespeare
      Soft, you; a word or two before you go.
      But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

Adverb

soft ‎(comparative more soft, superlative most soft)

  1. (obsolete) Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.
    • Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
      A knight soft riding toward them.
    • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter II:
      There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.

Noun

soft ‎(plural softs)

  1. A soft or foolish person; an idiot.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of George Eliot to this entry?)

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: field · street · attempt · #830: soft · officers · likely · beneath

Czech

Etymology

Borrowing from English soft(ware).

Noun

soft m

  1. (colloquial) software, program
    • 18 March 1999, CD-R 74min X 80min, Group cz.comp.ibmpc:
      Zajimalo by mne, zda jsou tyto CD schopna pracovat na plnou kapacitu s normalnimi vypalovackami a beznym softem nebo je na ne potreba mit extra vypalovadlo i soft?
    • 19 March 2009, Zalohovaci SW, Group cz.talk:
      Pokud těch dat máte víc, pak tím TARem stačí zálohovat základ systému a zbytek řešit zálohovacím softem, kterej umí dělit archiv na několik pásek.
    • 2 April 2010, gsm modul / telefon, Group cz.comp.linux:
      ma nekdo nejake zkusenosti s takovym zarizenim ci softem kterym to ovladat?

Declension

French

Etymology

Borrowing from English soft.

Noun

soft m ‎(plural softs)

  1. (sexuality) soft porn
  2. (computing, uncountable) Software.
  3. (computing, countable) A piece of software.

Adjective

soft m, f ‎(plural softs)

  1. softcore (pornography)

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English soft.

Adjective

soft ‎(invariable)

  1. soft (tone etc; temporary (computing))

Etymology

From Middle English softe ‎(“soft, easy, gentle, yielding”), from Old English sōfte, alteration of earlier sēfte ‎(“soft, gentle, easy, comfortable”), from Proto-Germanic *samftijaz ‎(“level, even, smooth, soft, gentle”) (compare *sōmiz ‎(“agreeable, fitting”)), from Proto-Indo-European *semptio-, *semtio-, from *sem- ‎(“one, whole”). Cognate with West Frisian sêft ‎(“gentle; soft”), Dutch zacht ‎(“soft”), German Low German sacht ‎(“soft”), German sanft ‎(“soft, yielding”), Old Norse sœmr ‎(“agreeable, fitting”), samr ‎(“same”). More at seem, same.

Pronunciation

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