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
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
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
John Edwards Examples of soft skills in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Employers ranked soft skills such as communication, teamwork and critical thinking higher than AI skills in importance, in NACE’s 2026 survey.
—Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Scientific American spoke with Elkins-Tanton about leadership, team building and leveraging soft skills in an extremely technical career.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 9 May 2026
And so there's a fundamental lack of opportunity to learn the soft skills that a white collar employee needs.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 6 May 2026
Hard and soft skills At a minimum, cybersecurity professionals should have a general understanding of IT including operating systems, communication protocols, network architecture, and programming languages such as C++, Java, and Python.
—IEEE Spectrum, 6 May 2026
These are not soft skills in the dismissive sense.
—Drew McLellan, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Because the same soft skills needed to maintain a relationship are just as vital in the workplace.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026
Mastery of soft skills, or power skills, is essential for sustained leadership success beyond...more
There’s a growing leadership gap that few are talking about.
—Ruth Gotian, Harvard Business Review, 15 Apr. 2026
With tasks such as stock now automated, soft skills such as emotional intelligence will become more important.
—Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
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Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Scientific American spoke with Elkins-Tanton about leadership, team building and leveraging soft skills in an extremely technical career.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 9 May 2026
And so there's a fundamental lack of opportunity to learn the soft skills that a white collar employee needs.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 6 May 2026
Hard and soft skills At a minimum, cybersecurity professionals should have a general understanding of IT including operating systems, communication protocols, network architecture, and programming languages such as C++, Java, and Python.
—IEEE Spectrum, 6 May 2026
These are not soft skills in the dismissive sense.
—Drew McLellan, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Because the same soft skills needed to maintain a relationship are just as vital in the workplace.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026
Mastery of soft skills, or power skills, is essential for sustained leadership success beyond...more
There’s a growing leadership gap that few are talking about.
—Ruth Gotian, Harvard Business Review, 15 Apr. 2026
With tasks such as stock now automated, soft skills such as emotional intelligence will become more important.
—Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Soft skills.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soft%20skills. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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