soft - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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.

soft (comparative softer, superlative softest)

  1. Easily giving way under pressure.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:soft
    Antonyms: hard, resistant, solid, stony
    My head sank easily into the soft pillow.
    • 2007 September 9, Sara Dickerman, “Olympic Dinners”, in New York Times‎[1]:
      My favorite Greek cheese is the creamy, sheepy manouri: delicately scented and almost spreadable, it’s like a softer, pudgier feta.
    • 2010, Robert Beeman, No More Time for Sorrow, page 133:
      […] Category Two implement hitches and doubled high-traction agricultural tires hung four to each massive rear axle to breast the steepest, softest dune or guckiest swamp […]
  2. (of cloth or similar material) Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.
    Synonyms: fluffy, non-abrasive
    Antonyms: abrasive, scratchy
    Polish the silver with a soft cloth to avoid scratching.
    soft silk; a soft skin
  3. (of a sound) Quiet.
    Synonym: quiet
    Antonym: loud
    I could hear the soft rustle of the leaves in the trees.
  4. Gentle.
    Synonyms: gentle, light, nesh
    Antonyms: harsh, rough, strong
    There was a soft breeze blowing.
  5. Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.
    soft eyes
  6. Gentle in action or motion; easy.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      On her soft axle, white she paces even, / And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
  7. Limp, weak.
  8. Weak in character; impressible.
    • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC:
      The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
  9. Requiring little or no effort; easy.
    • 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Beach of Falesá:
      Before that they had been a good deal on the move, trekking about after the white man, who was one of those rolling stones that keep going round after a soft job.
  10. Not bright or intense.
    soft lighting
  11. Having a slight angle from straight.
    Near-synonym: acute (geometry)
    Antonym: hard
    At the intersection with two roads going left, take the soft left.
    It's important to dance on soft knees to avoid injury.
  12. (phonetics) Voiced; sonant; lenis.
  13. (phonetics, rare) Voiceless.
  14. (Slavic, phonology) Palatalized.
  15. (slang) Excessively empathetic or concerned about others’ wellbeing.
    He’s too soft for the ruthless world of finance.
  16. (slang) Lacking strength or resolve; not tough, wimpy.
    Synonyms: meek, mild, nesh, wimpy
    Antonyms: firm, strict, tough
    When it comes to drinking, he is as soft as they come.
  1. (of water) Low in dissolved calcium compounds.
    Antonym: hard
    You won't need as much soap, as the water here is very soft.
  2. (UK, colloquial) Foolish.
    Synonyms: daft, foolish, silly, stupid; see also Thesaurus:foolish
    Antonym: sensible
  1. (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)
  2. (of a person) Physically or emotionally weak.
    see: snowflake and softie
  3. (UK, of a man) Effeminate.
    Synonyms: epicene, fruity, swish; see also Thesaurus:feminine
  1. Agreeable to the senses.
    a soft liniment
    soft wines
  1. (UK, slang, dated) Agreeable generally; pleasant.
  1. 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
  1. (photography, of light) Made up of nonparallel rays, tending to wrap around a subject and produce diffuse shadows.
  2. Incomplete, or temporary; not a full action.
    The admin imposed a soft ban on the user.
    Messages removed by soft deletion can be recovered if necessary.
  3. (computing) Emulated with software; not physically real.
    Press the red button on the soft phone to hang up.
  4. (of a drug) Not likely to cause addiction.
  5. (of a drink) Not containing alcohol.
    Antonyms: alcoholic, hard
  6. Easy-going, lenient, not strict; permissive.
    Synonyms: easy, lax, soft-handed; see also Thesaurus:lenient
    Antonym: hard
    soft on crime
  7. (finance) Of a market: having more supply than demand; being a buyer's market.
    Antonym: hard
  1. (of pornography) Softcore
    Antonyms: hard, hardcore
  2. (of kinks or sexual activity) Mild, tame, moderate; far from intense or excluding harsh elements.
    Synonym: light
    Antonym: rough
    soft humiliation play
    soft raceplay
    soft vore
  3. Of paper: unsized.
  4. Of silk: having the natural gum cleaned or washed off.
  5. Of coal: bituminous, as opposed to anthracitic.
  6. Of weather: warm enough to melt ice; thawing.
  7. (informal, idiomatic, followed by on) Attracted to or emotionally involved with someone.
  8. (UK, slang) Fake; counterfeit.

easily giving way under pressure

of cloth or similar material: smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh

of a sound — see also quiet

expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind

gentle in action or motion; easy

requiring little or no effort; easy

having a slight angle from straight

phonetics: voiced, sonant, lenis — see also voiced

Slavic phonology: palatalized

UK, colloquial: foolish — see foolish

physics, of a ferromagnetic material: that becomes essentially non-magnetic when an external magnetic field is removed

of a person: physically or emotionally weak

not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring or jagged; pleasing to the eye

photography, of light: made up of nonparallel rays, tending to wrap around a subject and produce diffuse shadows

incomplete, or temporary; not a full action

computing: emulated with software; not physically real — see emulated

of a drug: not likely to cause addiction

of a drink: not containing alcohol

finance, of a market: having more supply than demand; being a buyer's market

of pornography: softcore

soft

  1. (archaic) Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

soft (countable and uncountable, plural softs)

  1. (countable, archaic) A soft-headed or foolish person; an idiot.
  2. A soft drink.
    • 2019, Kenneth Bertrams, Julien Del Marmol, Sander Geerts, Becoming the World's Biggest Brewer:
      Artois' story with water and softs was embodied in the difficult relationship between Raymond Boon and Spa's main owner and CEO, Guy du Bois.
  3. (countable, motor racing) A tyre whose compound is softer than mediums, and harder than supersofts.
  4. (countable, colloquial) A soft sound or part of a sound.
    • 2012, Sam McGuire, Paul Lee, The Video Editor's Guide to Soundtrack Pro, page 103:
      The expander doesn't really make the louds louder and the softs softer in one step […]
  5. (countable, computing, dated, nonstandard, rare) A piece of software.
    • December 1989, Electronic Gaming Monthly:
      Sega and third-party licensees are set to release an abundance of softs that range from intense shooters to sports to reflex-testers.
  6. (UK, slang, obsolete, uncountable) Banknotes.
    • 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861:
      At the end of the two years and a half I got into the way of forged Bank-of-England notes. A man I knew in the course of business, said, ‘I would cut that game of ‘smatter-hauling,’ (stealing handkerchiefs), and do a little soft,’ (pass bad notes).
    • 1876, The Guernsey Magazine, volume 4:
      Putting his mouth to my ear, he whispered hoarsely. "Do you want to buy any queer soft?"
      […] In my dream I had been haunted by a counterfeiter, vulgarly called "a smasher."

From Middle English softe, from Old English sōfte (“softly”), from Proto-West Germanic *samftō (“softly”).

soft (comparative more soft, superlative most soft)

  1. (obsolete) Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.

  2. ^ Stanley, Oma (1937), “I. Vowel Sounds in Stressed Syllables”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, § 8, page 22. (Says this pronunciation was used only by some older people who had not received a formal education.)

Borrowed from English soft(ware).

soft m inan

  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?

Borrowed from English soft.

soft (comparative softer, superlative softst)

  1. soft, gentle
    Het beleid in Nederland is te soft.
    The policy in the Netherlands is too soft.
Declension of soft
uninflected soft
inflected softe
comparative softer
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial soft softer het softsthet softste
indefinite m./f. sing. softe softere softste
n. sing. soft softer softste
plural softe softere softste
definite softe softere softste
partitive softs softers —

Borrowed from English soft.

soft m (plural softs)

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

soft (plural softs)

  1. softcore (pornography)

Unadapted borrowing from English soft.

soft (invariable)

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

  2. ^ soft in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Borrowed from English software.

soft n (plural softuri)

  1. software

From English soft.

soft (comparative softare, superlative softast)

  1. (slang) nice or laid-back; chill
    Antonym: osoft
    en soft snubbe
    a chill guy
    Det ska bli riktigt soft med några dagar ledigt
    It's gonna be real chill to have a few days off
    Soft att du klarade provet!
    Nice that you passed the test!