English Explanatory Dictionary

soft

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Easily giving way under pressure.
  2. Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.
  3. Quiet.
  4. Gentle.
  5. Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.
  6. Gentle in action or motion; easy.
  7. Limp, weak.
  8. Weak in character; impressible.
  9. Requiring little or no effort; easy.
  10. Not bright or intense.
  11. Having a slight angle from straight.
  12. Voiced; sonant; lenis.
intj
  1. Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
noun
  1. A soft-headed or foolish person; an idiot.
  2. A soft drink.
  3. A tyre whose compound is softer than mediums, and harder than supersofts.
  4. A soft sound or part of a sound.
  5. A piece of software.
  6. Banknotes.
adv
  1. Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.

Pronunciation

sŏft /sɒft/ /sɔːft/ sôft /sɔft/ /sɑft/ En-us-soft.ogg săft /sæft/

Word forms

soft softer softest softs more soft most soft

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *samftī Old English sōfte Middle English softe English soft From Middle English softe, from Old English sōfte, alteration of earlier sēfte (“soft”), from Proto-West Germanic *samft(ī) (“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.

Synonyms

cushiony flabby flaccid flexible soft spongy mellow malleable moldable pliable tender yielding zate fluffy non-abrasive quiet gentle light nesh acute meek mild wimpy daft foolish silly stupid asinine balmy barmy bedaft loony derpy dim-headed dim-witted dopey dull-headed dull-witted dumb duncical fatuous fuzzy-headed fuzzy-minded gauvison goofy idiotic idle insipient mookish naive simple slight slow-witted softheaded soft in the head sottish thick unsage unwise wool-headed

Antonyms

firm hard resistant solid stony unyielding abrasive scratchy loud harsh rough strong strict tough sensible alcoholic hardcore

Related words

mollify

Derived words

airsoft failsoft hypersoft mallsoft nonsoft oversoft semisoft Softail softback softbacked softball softbill softbilled softboard softbottom softbound softbox softboy softcoat softcock softcode softcover softcovered soften softgel softgoods softhead softheaded softhearted softie softish softleaf softline softling softlock softly softmask softmaxx softness softnose softpaste soft ping softplay softplus soft release softroader softscape softshell softship softsub softtail softwall software softwater softwear softwood softy stroft ultrasoft unsoft

Translations

Bulgarian: тих Dutch: zacht Dutch: stil Esperanto: milda Finnish: vaimea German: leise Hawaiian: polinahe Hungarian: halk Hungarian: csendes Irish: séimh Italian: dolce Central Kurdish: نەرم Central Kurdish: ھێمن Latvian: mīksts Māori: riki Māori: ririki Māori: mārire Norwegian: myk Polish: cichy Portuguese: suave Romanian: încet Russian: ти́хий Scottish Gaelic: mìn Scottish Gaelic: binn Spanish: tenue Vietnamese: khẽ Vietnamese: khẽ khàng
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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