soft

/sɔft/

/sɒft/

Other forms: softer; softest; softs

Soft things are fluffy or yielding to the touch. A kitten's fur and your favorite fleece pajama pants are soft. So is spreadable cheese or the spongy ground of a wet field.

A soft voice is gentle, and a soft light or color is subdued or muted. A table with soft edges is rounded instead of sharp-cornered. Soft rain is mild. No matter how the adjective soft is used, it's always the opposite of words like hard, loud, bright or stubborn. It comes from a Germanic root that means "level, even, smooth, or gentle."

Definitions of soft

1. adjective

   yielding readily to pressure or weight
   synonyms:

   brushed, fleecy, napped

   (of fabrics) having soft nap produced by brushing

   cheeselike

   having the consistency of cheese

   compressible, squeezable

   capable of being easily compressed

   cottony

   resembling cotton; as soft as cotton

   cushioned, cushiony, padded

   softened by the addition of cushions or padding

   demulcent, emollient, salving, softening

   having a softening or soothing effect especially to the skin

   downlike, downy, flossy, fluffy

   like down or as soft as down

   flaccid

   drooping without elasticity; wanting in stiffness

   flocculent, woolly, wooly

   having a fluffy character or appearance

   yielding

   lacking stiffness and giving way to pressure

   mushy

   having the consistency of mush

   overstuffed

   upholstered thickly and deeply

   semisoft, softish

   somewhat soft

   spongelike, spongy, squashy, squishy

   easily squashed; resembling a sponge in having soft porous texture and compressibility

   velvet, velvety

   resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface

   antonyms:

   hard

   resisting weight or pressure

   adamantine

   having the hardness of a diamond

   al dente

   cooked so as to be firm when eaten

   corneous, hornlike, horny

   made of horn (or of a substance resembling horn)

   firm, solid

   not soft or yielding to pressure

   granitelike, granitic, rocklike, stony

   hard as granite

   hardened, set

   converted to solid form (as concrete)

   woody

   made hard like wood as the result of the deposition of lignin in the cell walls

   petrous, stonelike

   (of bone especially the temporal bone) resembling stone in hardness

   semihard

   somewhat hard

   steely

   resembling steel in hardness

   unyielding

   resistant to physical force or pressure
2. adjective

   having little impact
   “a soft (or light) tapping at the window”

   synonyms: easy, gentle

   light

   of little intensity or power or force
3. adjective

   not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship
   “a soft job”

   synonyms: cushy, easygoing

   easy

   posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
4. adjective

   out of condition; not strong or robust; incapable of exertion or endurance
   “he was too soft for the army”

   synonyms: flabby, flaccid

   unfit

   not in good physical or mental condition; out of condition
5. adjective

   easily hurt
   “soft hands”

   synonyms: delicate

   tender, untoughened

   physically untoughened
6. adjective

   not protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons)
   “soft targets”

   antonyms:

   hardened

   protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons)
7. adverb

   in a relaxed manner; or without hardship
   synonyms: easy
8. adjective

   compassionate and kind; conciliatory
   “he was soft on his children”

   synonyms:

   mellow

   having attained to kindliness or gentleness through age and experience

   tender

   given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality

   warmhearted

   marked by warmth of feeling like kindness and sympathy and generosity

   antonyms:

   hard

   dispassionate

   difficult, hard

   not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure

   calculating, calculative, conniving, scheming, shrewd

   (used of persons) good at tricking people to get something

   case-hardened, hard-boiled, hardened

   used of persons; emotionally hardened

   steely

   resembling steel as in hardness

   merciless, unmerciful

   having or showing no mercy

   insensitive

   deficient in human sensibility; not mentally or morally sensitive

   tough

   not given to gentleness or sentimentality
9. adjective

   willing to negotiate and compromise
   synonyms:

   conciliative, conciliatory

   intended to placate
10. adjective

    tolerant or lenient
    “too soft on the children”

    “they are soft on crime”

    synonyms: indulgent, lenient

    permissive

    granting or inclined or able to grant permission; not strict in discipline
11. adjective

    soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
    synonyms: gentle

    mild

    moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
12. adjective

    mild and pleasant
    “a soft breeze”

    synonyms: balmy, mild

    clement

    (of weather or climate) physically mild
13. adjective

    (of sound) relatively low in volume
    “soft voices”

    “soft music”

    synonyms:

    dull, muffled, muted, softened

    being or made softer or less loud or clear

    euphonious

    (of speech or dialect) pleasing in sound; not harsh or strident

    gentle

    quiet and soothing

    hushed, muted, quiet, subdued

    in a softened tone

    little, small

    (of a voice) faint

    low, low-toned

    very low in volume

    murmuring, susurrant, whispering

    making a low continuous indistinct sound

    murmurous, rustling, soughing, susurrous

    characterized by soft sounds

    soft-footed

    sound of quiet gentle steps

    soft-spoken

    having a speaking manner that is not loud or harsh

    quiet

    free of noise or uproar; or making little if any sound

    antonyms:

    loud

    characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity

    audible, hearable

    heard or perceptible by the ear

    big

    loud and firm

    blaring, blasting

    unpleasantly loud and penetrating

    clarion

    loud and clear

    deafening, earsplitting, thunderous, thundery

    loud enough to cause (temporary) hearing loss

    earthshaking

    extremely loud; loud enough to make the ground tremble

    harsh-voiced

    having an unusually harsh sound

    loud-mouthed

    given to loud offensive talk

    loud-voiced

    having an unusually loud voice

    shattering

    seemingly loud enough to break something; violently rattling or clattering

    shouted, yelled

    in a vehement outcry

    trumpet-like

    resembling the sound of a trumpet

    vocal

    full of the sound of voices

    noisy

    full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds
14. adjective

    used chiefly as a direction or description in music
    synonyms: piano

    pianissimo

    chiefly a direction or description in music; very soft

    pianissimo assai

    chiefly a direction or description in music; very soft
15. adjective

    (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected
    synonyms: diffuse, diffused

    antonyms:

    hard

    (of light) transmitted directly from a pointed light source
16. adjective

    not brilliant or glaring
    “the moon cast soft shadows”

    “soft pastel colors”

    synonyms: subdued

    dull

    emitting or reflecting very little light
17. adjective

    produced with vibration of the vocal cords
    synonyms: sonant, voiced
18. adjective

    (of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the hard palate; characterized by a hissing or hushing sound (as `s' and `sh')
    synonyms:

    continuant, fricative, sibilant, spirant, strident

    of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')

    palatal, palatalised, palatalized

    produced with the front of the tongue near or touching the hard palate (as `y') or with the blade of the tongue near the hard palate (as `ch' in `chin' or `j' in `gin')

    antonyms:

    hard

    (of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward or touching the velum

    velar

    produced with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft palate (as `k' in `cat' and `g' in `gun' and `ng' in `sing')
19. adjective

    (of a commodity or market or currency) falling or likely to fall in value
    “the market for computers is soft”

    synonyms:

    falling

    becoming lower or less in degree or value
20. adjective

    using evidence not readily amenable to experimental verification or refutation
    “soft data”

    “the soft sciences”

    synonyms:

    qualitative

    involving distinctions based on qualities