soft

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adjective

Definition of SOFT

1

not loud in pitch or volume <soft music played in the background while we ate>

Synonyms dull, gentle, low, quiet

Related Words dead, silent, still; calm, dreamy, hushed, peaceful, restful, serene, soothing, stilly, tranquil; muffled, muted, softened, toned (down)

Near Antonyms brazen, crashing, dinning, discordant, noisy, obstreperous, raucous, rip-roaring, vociferous; grating, harsh, shrill, squealing, strident; clarion, clear, trumpetlike

Antonyms blaring, blasting, booming, clamorous, clangorous, deafening, earsplitting, loud, overloud, piercing, plangent, resounding, ringing, roaring, sonorous, stentorian, thundering, thunderous

2

smooth or delicate in appearance or feel <I like this sweater the best because it is so soft and comfortable>

Synonyms cottony, downy, satin, satiny, silken, silklike, silky, velvetlike, velvety

Related Words creamy; chiffon, delicate, fine, slick; ultrasoft

Near Antonyms bumpy, irregular, jagged, lumpy, pebbly; broken, jagged, ragged, roughened, rugged, scraggy; grainy, granular, gritty

Antonyms coarse, harsh, rough, scratchy

3

giving easily to the touch <soft mattresses make it very easy to fall asleep, but they have a tendency to get lumpy>

Synonyms flabby, mushy, pulpy, spongy, squashy, squishy, squooshy

Related Words doughy, fleshy; droopy, flaccid, floppy, lank, limp, slack, yielding; bendable, compressible, crushable, elastic, flexible, kneadable, malleable, pliable, pliant, resilient, supple, willowy, workable; airy, light

Near Antonyms inelastic, inflexible, rigid, stiff, tense, unbending, unyielding; resistant, sound, strong, sturdy, tough; case-hardened, crush-proof, hardened, indurated, stiffened, tempered; compacted, compressed, condensed; adamantine, rock, rocklike; sturdy, substantial

Antonyms firm, hard, solid

4

involving minimal difficulty or effort <looking for a soft job in local government>

Synonyms cheap, downhill, effortless, facile, fluent, fluid, hands-down, light, painless, ready, royal, simple, smooth, snap, soft

Related Words idiotproof, mindless, quick, straightforward, unchallenging, uncomplicated; apparent, clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, manifest, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, transparent, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable

Near Antonyms burdensome, exhausting, onerous, oppressive, painful, stressful, taxing, troublesome; abstruse, complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty, problematic (also problematical), recondite

Antonyms arduous, demanding, difficult, exacting, formidable, grueling (or gruelling), hard, herculean, killer, labored, laborious, murderous, rough, severe, stiff, strenuous, toilful, toilsome, tough

5

lacking bodily strength <soft recruits who will get toughened up in the army>

Synonyms asthenic, debilitated, delicate, down-and-out, effete, enervated, enfeebled, faint, feeble, frail, infirm, languid, low, prostrate, prostrated, sapped, slight, soft, softened, tender, unsubstantial, wasted, weakened, wimpish, wimpy

Related Words challenged, disabled, incapacitated, invalid; paralyzed; broken-down, decrepit; impotent, powerless; breakable, flimsy, fragile; dizzy, groggy, rocky, unsteady, woozy; drained, exhausted, flagging, tired, weary, worn-out; damaged, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, lame, unsound; resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding

Near Antonyms able-bodied, athletic, beefy, brawny, fit, husky, muscular, sinewy, strapping, virile; hard, hardy, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sturdy, tough; fortified, hardened, inured, strengthened, toughened; energetic, energized, invigorated, vigorous, vitalized; hale, healthy, sound; capable, competent; convalescing, recovering, recuperating

Antonyms mighty, powerful, rugged, stalwart, stout, strong

6

lacking strength of will or character <a soft person who tends to yield to stronger personalities>

Synonyms characterless, effete, frail, invertebrate, limp-wristed, milk-and-water, namby-pamby, nerveless, soft, spineless, weakened, weak-kneed, weakling, wet [British], wimpish, wimpy, wishy-washy

Related Words flabby, flaccid, forceless, ineffective, ineffectual; impotent, impuissant, powerless; emasculated, unnerved; lamblike, meek, pliable, submissive; corrupt, dastardly, unprincipled, unscrupulous, villainous; cowardly, craven, fainthearted, lily-livered, nebbishy, poltroon, pusillanimous, sissy, timid; infirm, irresolute, vacillating

Near Antonyms ethical, good, moral, principled, right, righteous, upright, virtuous; determined, mettlesome, resolute, unrelenting; courageous, stalwart, stouthearted

Antonyms backboned, firm, hard, strong, tough

7

not harsh or stern especially in nature or effect <a soft breeze coming off the lake>

Synonyms balmy, benign, bland, delicate, light, mellow, mild, nonabrasive, soft, soothing, tender

Related Words calm, pacific, peaceful, placid, quiet, serene, tranquil; clement, compassionate, easy, lenient, merciful; buffering, cushioning, emollient, softening; sleek, slick, smooth

Near Antonyms exquisite, fierce, intense, powerful, severe; forceful, forcible, savage, violent; roughened, rugged, strong; abrading, irritating, roughening; grim, gruff, rude, stiff; heavy-handed, oppressive, pitiless, tyrannical (also tyrannic)

Antonyms abrasive, caustic, coarse, hard, harsh, rough, scathing, stern, ungentle

8

providing physical comfort <a warm, soft bed to rest my weary bones>

Synonyms comfy, cozy, cushy, easy, snug, soft

Related Words easeful, relaxing, reposeful, restful; gemütlich, genial, hospitable, inviting, pleasant; commodious, roomy, spacious; homelike, homely, intimate

Near Antonyms hard, harsh, severe; inhospitable, uninviting, unpleasant

Antonyms uncomfortable

9

tolerant and kind in the judgment of and expectations for others <felt that his wife had been a little too soft on their son, and that more discipline was in order>

Synonyms charitable, clement, easy, soft

Related Words accommodating, acquiescent, amenable, obliging; easygoing, laid-back, undemanding

Near Antonyms demanding; uncharitable, unforgiving; inflexible, intolerant, unbending, uncompromising, unyielding

Antonyms hard, harsh, severe, stern, strict

10

marked by temperatures that are neither too high nor too low <it was a lovely soft spring evening>

Synonyms balmy, equable, genial, gentle, mild, moderate, soft, temperate

Related Words clear, cloudless, fair, rainless, sunny, sunshiny; calm, halcyon, peaceful, placid, tranquil; delightful, fine, pleasant

Near Antonyms blustering, blustery, breezy, gusty, rough, squally, stormy, windy; misty, rainy, showery; bleak, cloudy, dismal, foggy, gloomy, gray (also grey), hazy, overcast, sunless; bitter, dirty, foul, nasty, raw

Antonyms harsh, inclement, intemperate, severe

11

not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily <sometimes I wonder if you've gone soft in the head>

Synonyms airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless [chiefly British], half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless

Related Words cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded; boobish, foolish, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic; ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking; absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), zany; fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable

Near Antonyms ingenious, resourceful; acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise; cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read; educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained; crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily; judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound; logical, rational, reasonable, valid

Antonyms apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart