cushion/soften the blow

phrase

: to make one's disappointment less painful

She was disappointed not to get the job, but the promise of another job cushioned/softened the blow.

Examples of cushion/soften the blow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Thune has worked to soften the blow, at least within his own conference, by involving Lee in lengthy conversations on how debate proceeds. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026

States that had already put strong pollution controls in place were able to cushion the blow of the federal cutbacks. — Ella Whitman, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026

The bottom line is that, faced with tariffs, foreign exporters don’t really cut their prices to cushion the blow. — Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026

And Gallagher has done little to cushion the blow since putting pen to paper. — Simon Johnson, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026