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yielding readily to touch or pressure; easily penetrated, divided, or changed in shape; not hard or stiff:
a soft pillow.
relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.
smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse:
a soft fabric; soft skin.
producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable:
soft slumber.
low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious:
soft music; a soft voice.
not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring:
soft light; a soft color.
not hard or sharp:
soft outlines.
gentle or mild:
soft breezes.
genial or balmy, as climate or air.
gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate:
a soft, grandmotherly woman.
smooth, soothing, or ingratiating:
soft words.
not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.
responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.
sentimental or flowery, as language:
soft, meaningless talk.
not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion:
He was too soft for the Marines.
Informal. easy; involving little effort; not difficult, laborious, trying, or severe:
a soft job.
Informal. easily influenced or swayed; easily imposed upon; impressionable.
lenient, permissive, or conciliatory, especially regarding something that is conceived of as dangerous or threatening:
to be soft on Communism.
(of water) relatively free from mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.
(of paper money or a monetary system) not supported by sufficient gold reserves or not easily convertible into a foreign currency.
(of a market, market condition, or prices) declining in value, volume, profitability, etc.; weak:
a soft tourist season.
Compare firm1 (def 7).
(of money) plentiful or available at low interest rates or on easy terms:
a soft loan.
soft-core.
Metallurgy.

(of a metal) easily magnetized and demagnetized.
(of solder) fusing readily.
(of a metal or alloy) fully annealed, so as to provide minimum mechanical hardness.

Photography.

(of a photographic image) having delicate gradations of tone.
(of a focus) lacking in sharpness.
(of a lens) unable to be focused sharply.

Phonetics.

(of consonants) lenis, especially lenis and voiced.
(of c and g) pronounced as in cent and gem.
(of consonants in Slavic languages) palatalized.
Compare hard (def 38).

Military. (of a missile-launching base) aboveground and relatively unprotected from enemy attack.
Aerospace. (of a landing of a space vehicle) gentle; not harmful to the vehicle or its contents:
a soft landing on the moon.
Physics. (of a beam of particles or electromagnetic radiation) having relatively low energy:
soft x-rays.
Compare hard (def 40).
(of a delegate, voter, etc.) not committed to any one candidate.
foolish or stupid:
soft in the head.
(of a detergent) readily biodegradable.
something that is soft or yielding; the soft part.
softness.
in a soft manner.
be quiet! hush!
not so fast! stop!
be soft on someone, Informal. to be amorously inclined toward a person; have an affection for:
He’s been soft on her for years.
Contemporary Examples

Our nation is going so soft, and it’s clearly President Obama’s fault.
Deer Hunters, Your Nation Needs You! Justin Green April 1, 2013

Which is too bad, because we badly need that squishy, soft quality to restore the hardest of hard things, the economy.
How Empathy Can Save the Economy Maia Szalavitz May 27, 2009

New mothers want two hammocks made of soft, shapeless cotton sewn together and viewed only in a darkened room.
Dita Von Teese, Keep Your Hands Off Our Boobs Emma Mahony August 5, 2014

On it a young beardless man speaks Chechen and Arabic with a soft accent.
Fierce Fighting in Grozny Raises Specter of ISIS Influence in Russia Anna Nemtsova December 3, 2014

The rulings sparked fury among citizens, who took to Tahrir Square once again, accusing the military of a soft coup.
Mohamed Morsi Stages a Risky Palace Coup Sacking Egyptian Army Chief Vivian Salama August 12, 2012

Historical Examples

Her eyes brightened and she placed a soft hand upon his arm.
The Wall Street Girl Frederick Orin Bartlett

Andrew Lanning was town bred and soft of skin from the work at the forge.
Way of the Lawless Max Brand

Nothing but that drip, drip of the rain, and that soft distant sighing of the sea.
Antony Gray,–Gardener Leslie Moore

The banks of the river were steep, and consisted of soft clay.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia Thomas Mitchell

You’re kind of soft around the stomach, Mr. Henderson, I’m sorry to say.
The Man Next Door Emerson Hough

adjective
easy to dent, work, or cut without shattering; malleable
not hard; giving little or no resistance to pressure or weight
fine, light, smooth, or fluffy to the touch
gentle; tranquil
(of music, sounds, etc) low and pleasing
(of light, colour, etc) not excessively bright or harsh
(of a breeze, climate, etc) temperate, mild, or pleasant
(dialect) drizzly or rainy: a soft day, the weather has turned soft
slightly blurred; not sharply outlined: soft focus
(of a diet) consisting of easily digestible foods
kind or lenient, often excessively so
easy to influence or impose upon
prepared to compromise; not doctrinaire: the soft left
(informal) feeble or silly; simple (often in the phrase soft in the head)
unable to endure hardship, esp through too much pampering
physically out of condition; flabby: soft muscles
loving; tender: soft words
(informal) requiring little exertion; easy: a soft job
(chem) (of water) relatively free of mineral salts and therefore easily able to make soap lather
(of a drug such as cannabis) nonaddictive or only mildly addictive Compare hard (sense 19)
(of news coverage) concentrating on trivial stories or those with human interest
(phonetics)

an older word for lenis
(not in technical usage) denoting the consonants c and g in English when they are pronounced as palatal or alveolar fricatives or affricates (s, / dʒ /, / ʃ /, / ð /, / tʃ /) before e and i, rather than as velar stops (k, g)
(in the Slavonic languages) palatalized before a front vowel or a special character (soft sign) written as Ь

unprotected against attack: a soft target
(military) unarmoured, esp as applied to a truck by comparison with a tank

(finance, mainly US) (of prices, a market, etc) unstable and tending to decline
(of a currency) in relatively little demand, esp because of a weak balance of payments situation
(of radiation, such as X-rays and ultraviolet radiation) having low energy and not capable of deep penetration of materials
(physics) (of valves or tubes) only partially evacuated
related to the performance of non-specific, undefinable tasks: soft skills such as customer services and office support
soft on, soft about

gentle, sympathetic, or lenient towards
feeling affection or infatuation for

adverb
in a soft manner: to speak soft
noun
a soft object, part, or piece
(informal) See softie
interjection (archaic)
quiet!
wait!
adj.

Old English softe, earlier sefte, “gentle, mild-natured; easeful, comfortable, calm, undisturbed; luxurious,” from West Germanic *samfti, from Proto-Germanic *samftijaz “level, even, smooth, gentle, soft” (cf. Old Saxon safti, Old High German semfti, German sanft; and from a variant form with -ch- for -f-, Middle Dutch sachte, Dutch zacht, German sacht), from root *som- “fitting, agreeable.”

From c.1200 of material things, “not stiff, not coarse, fine; yielding to weight.” From late 14c. of wind, rain, etc. Of sounds, “quiet, not loud,” from early 13c. Of words, “mild, restrained; courteous” mid-14c. From late 14c. as “indulgent,” also “physically feeble; easily overcome, lacking manly courage.” From 1755 of water (“relatively free from mineral salts”), from 1789 of coal. Meaning “foolish, simple, silly” is attested from 1620s; earlier “easily moved or swayed; soft-hearted, sympathetic; docile” (early 13c.). In reference to drinks, “non-alcoholic” from 1880. As an adverb, Old English softe “gently;” late 13c. as “quietly.” As an interjection from 1540s.

Soft landing is from 1958 and the U.S. space program. Adjective soft-core (in reference to pornography) is from 1966 (cf. hardcore). Soft rock as a music style is attested from 1969. Soft sell is from 1955. Soft-shoe as a dancing style is attested from 1927. Soft-boiled is from 1757 of eggs; of persons, ideas, etc., 1930 (cf. half-baked). Soft-focus (adj.) of camera shots is from 1917. The softer sex “women collectively” is from 1640s.

modifier

Fucking • A British expression of anger or contempt, or an intensive
Society of Forensic Toxicologists

soft in the head
soft job
soft on
soft pedal
soft sell
soft soap
soft spot
soft touch