Definition of 'soft' in English English dictionary
- ju
- -soft
- Formerly commonly used in the names of software houses
Even in a painstakingly designed application like Microsoft Word, automatic features for capitalizing text and applying formatting often confound users of all levels.
- soft
- Having an acute angle
At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the soft left.
- soft
- Gentle
There was a soft breeze blowing.
- soft
- palatalized
- soft
- 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)
- soft
- voiceless
- soft
- Not bright or intense
Soft lighting.
- soft
- Giving way under pressure
My head sank easily into the soft pillow.
- soft
- voiced, sonant
DH represents the voiced (soft) th of English these clothes. — The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien.
- soft
- Low in dissolved calcium compounds
You won't need as much soap, as the water here is very soft.
- soft
- Lacking strength or resolve, wimpy
When it comes to drinking, he is as soft as they come.
- soft
- Foolish
- soft
- Smooth and flexible
Polish the silver with a soft cloth to avoid scratching.
- soft
- Requiring little or no effort, easy
a soft job.
- soft
- Quiet
I could hear the soft rustle of the leaves in the trees.
- soft X-ray
- the lowest energy, lowest frequency, longest wavelength end of the X-ray EM band, overlapping with EUV (extreme ultraviolet)
- soft X-rays
- plural form of soft X-ray
- soft as a baby's bottom
- extremely soft (not rough)
- soft c
- In many languages, a letter "c" which is not pronounced as a velar stop (/k/, like English "k") but as a sibilant (/s/, like English "s") or an affricative (/tʃ/, like English "ch")
- soft c
- In Italian, the "c" sound in "certo" as distinct from the "c" sound in "caffè"
- soft c
- In English, the "c" sound in "cent", "central" and "circuit" as distinct from the hard c in "cat" and "cabin"
- soft copy
- A digital copy of a document, rather than a copy printed on paper
- soft dollars
- a rebate or commission paid with goods or services, rather than cash
- soft drink
- A non-alcoholic drink, normally carbonated
- soft drinks
- plural form of soft drink
- soft fruit
- fruit that grows on bushes, such as berries, strawberries and currants, as contrasted with top fruit
- soft fruits
- plural form of soft fruit
- soft g
- : The "g" sound in "gem", "giraffe" and "generation" as distinct from the hard g in "get" and "give"
- soft hands
- the hands in a relaxed state, especially for a batsman to play with a dead bat, or for a fielder to catch the ball without it bouncing out
- soft hyphen
- the symbol represented by code U+00AD. It is defined by Unicode as a generally invisible character that allows manual specification of a place where a hyphenated break is allowed without forcing a line break in an inconvenient place if the text was later reflowed
- soft hyphens
- plural form of soft hyphen
- soft key
- Gently highlighting; low-key
- soft key
- A softkey: a button, located along a display device, which performs whatever function is shown near it on the display
- soft maple
- A red maple, Acer rubrum
- soft matte
- That the full frame is filled, and the projectionist is relied upon to matte out the top and bottom of the frame in the theatrical projector
- soft mick
- An extravagant person
- soft mutation
- A type of pronunciation change required when speaking certain Celtic languages
- soft mutations
- plural form of soft mutation
- soft opening
- An unannounced or lightly announced business opening, instead of or prior to a grand opening
- soft palate
- The soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth
- soft pedal
- The leftmost foot-pedal on a piano
- soft pedals
- plural form of soft pedal
- soft photon
- A photon, whose energy is too small to be detected, that is one of a cloud associated with a charged particle
- soft point
- having an exposed lead point, designed to expand when it hits its target and therefore cause more damage
- soft porn
- Alternative form of softcore pornography
- soft redirect
- An indication to a user that what they requested may be found elsewhere
I decided to leave a soft redirect explaining why the website had been moved.
- soft redirects
- plural form of soft redirect
- soft rock
- A comparatively unaggressive, melodic rock music in which the arrangement and lyrics are emphasized more than the beat; a reaction against hard rock
- soft sawder
- Cajoling or flattery
- soft sell
- A sales technique which is quietly persuasive and subtle; seeking to convince the buyer without being forceful
- soft serve
- A frozen dessert, similar to ice cream but dispensed from a machine
- soft shoe
- Casual, low-key, easy-going
Occasionally criticized for his soft-shoe approach (e.g., he urged the President to avoid a public squabble with Joe McCarthy), Persons nonetheless won many a legislator over to the Administration side.
- soft shoe
- Of or pertaining to this kind of dancing
- soft shoe
- A speech, explanation, sales pitch, or other set of remarks delivered in a restrained or conciliatory manner in order to persuade, distract, or otherwise influence someone
Is the salesman's soft-shoe appropriate in a time of national mourning?.
- soft shoe
- To perform a dance of this kind
- soft shoe
- A kind of tap dancing performed in soft-soled shoes, popular in vaudeville
Between Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Newley there's a delightful exhibition of the dances and their origin dating gack a few hundred years, from the clog to the buck, the wing, and the buck and wing, and on to the old soft shoe and more.
- soft skill
- A personal skill that is usually interpersonal, non-specialized, and difficult to quantify, such as leadership or responsibility
- soft skills
- plural form of soft skill
- soft spot
- A fontanelle
- soft spot
- A point of vulnerability in a defence
- soft spot
- A sentimental fondness or affection
He started out a bricklayer and throughout his life he had a soft spot for other bricklayers and masons.
- soft spots
- plural form of soft spot
- soft target
- An undefended civilian target attacked by an army, military group or terrorists
- soft targets
- plural form of soft target
- soft tissue
- all the tissues of the body except the bones and organs
- soft top
- The foldable roof of a convertible or sports car which is made of fabric
- soft top
- A car with such a roof
- soft tops
- plural form of soft top
- soft touch
- A comfortable situation; an easy task or undemanding occupation, especially one which is comfortably remunerative
I finally abandoned any lingering illusions I had had that Ministry work was a soft touch.
- soft touch
- A person or group which is sympathetic, accommodating, easily overcome, or easily persuaded, especially one which loans or readily gives money to another
The federal opposition says people smugglers now see Australia as a soft touch on border security.
- soft water
- water with a low concentration of dissolved minerals, especially calcium, making it easier to lather with soap
- soft-boiled
- cooked to a soft consistency with the yolk still runny
- soft-boiled
- softhearted or sentimental
- soft-key
- Attributive form of soft key, noun
- soft-pedal
- Attempting to persuade without being obvious about it, by understating a position so the listener takes the good points as obvious
- soft-shell turtle
- Any turtle of the family Trionychidae, such turtles having a carapace that has no scutes and is leathery and pliable at the sides
- soft-shell turtles
- plural form of soft-shell turtle
- soft-shelled turtle
- A variant form of soft-shell turtle
- soft-shoe
- Alternative spelling of soft shoe
- soft-soap
- To attempt to persuade by flattery or pleasing words
- soft-soap
- Persuasion by means of flattery or pleasing words
- soft-spoken
- having a pleasant, sweet, gentle, mild speaking manner
He was soft-spoken and gentle.
- soft underbelly
- vulnerable spot, weak spot
- soft probe
- A confirmation method used by banks to verify funding for a seller from a buyer, conducted by the seller's bank to the buyer's bank
- soft
- {a} smooth, tender, easy, gently, simple
- soft
- {i} used for, be gentle, forbear
- soft link
- (Bilgisayar) In computing, a symbolic link (also symlink or soft link) is a special type of file that contains a reference to another file or directory in the form of an absolute or relative path and that affects pathname resolution
- soft offer
- (Ticaret) A trial offer of some kind. The prospective customer is offered the product on a trial period for a given length of time, during which they can use and evaluate the product to decide if the product meets their needs. No risk or obligation is invested by the prospect
- soft opening
- A period of time when a new hotel, which may not be fully complete, is open for business but has not formally announced its opening. Also used of rides and attractions at theme parks
- soft paraffin
- Petroleum jelly, vaseline, petrolatum or soft paraffin is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties. Its folkloric medicinal value as a "cure-all" has since been limited by better scientific understanding of appropriate and inappropriate uses However, it is recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an approved Over-The-Counter (OTC) skin protectant and remains widely used in cosmetic skin care. It is commonly referred to as Vaseline as a genericised trademark
- soft porn
- Soft porn (or softcore) is a form of pornography, either video or nude glamour photography, that is less explicit than hardcore material in depicting or describing sexual behaviour. Softcore does not depict explicit sexual contact, but ranges from nudity to simulated intercourse. While both softcore and hardcore feature sexual situations with the intention of arousing the viewer, the key difference is that softcore does not clearly show aroused genitalia (including masturbation), ejaculation, or penetration (vaginal, anal and/or oral). Some softcore porn, especially recently, is more explicit in that penises or vulvae are shown as well as contact in those areas. In milder forms of softcore porn, much of the nudity is implied, such as the handbra technique, with only limited nipple exposure
- soft power
- (Politika Siyaset) Soft power is a term used in international relations theory to describe the ability of a political body, such as a state, to indirectly influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies through cultural or ideological means. The term was first coined by Harvard University professor Joseph Nye, who remains its most prominent proponent, in a 1990 book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. He further developed the concept in his 2004 book, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. While its usefulness as a descriptive theory has not gone unchallenged, soft power has since entered popular political discourse as a way of distinguishing the subtle effects of culture, values and ideas on others' behavior from more direct coercive measures, such as military action (hard power) or economic incentives