soft skills

plural noun

: general abilities (such as communication, critical thinking, and adaptability) that rely on qualitative experiences and intuitive learning rather than technical expertise

Perhaps preschool's biggest contribution to students' future success comes in the form of so-called soft skills like learning how to pay attention and stay on task.

—Kayla Webley

especially : interpersonal skills

Being able to talk to folks and use soft skills like listening to what the customer is asking for can make all the difference.

—Ryan Kelly

Most CIOs spend a significant amount of time honing their IT abilities and staying up to date on the latest technologies and trends. Relatively few IT leaders, however, dedicate themselves to refining their soft skills in such critical areas as leadership, collaboration, and team building.

—John Edwards

Examples of soft skills in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To put it simply, humans remain uniquely positioned to demonstrate soft skills. — Serenity Gibbons, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Some workplace experts argue that with more businesses adopting AI tools, soft skills such as empathy, critical thinking and ethical decision-making are worth cultivating to help employees become indispensable. — Cathy Bussewitz, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026

And there’s a tangible financial incentive for young grads to successfully leverage AI while pairing it with soft skills. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 May 2026

Limiting screen time at school has helped cultivate those soft skills, Ortiz said. — Victoria Le, Oc Register, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for soft skills

• bluegills
• brazils
• distills
• distils
• foothills
• fulfills
• fulfils
• handbills
• instills
• landfills
• refills
• sandhills