soften

play

verb soft·en \ ˈsȯ-fən \

Definition of soften

softened; softening play \ˈsȯ-fə-niŋ, ˈsȯf-niŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to make soft or softer

2 a :to weaken the military resistance or the morale of especially by harassment (such as preliminary bombardment) —often used with up

b :to impair the strength or resistance of —often used with up

soften up a sales prospect

intransitive verb

:to become soft or softer

her face softened

—

softener

play \ˈsȯ-fə-nər, ˈsȯf-nər\ noun

See soften defined for English-language learners

See soften defined for kids

Examples of soften in a Sentence

The butter will soften if left on the counter overnight.
The recipe called for one stick of butter, softened.
The oil is used to soften and preserve the leather.
The lotion softens dry skin.
The company has softened its stance on dating in the workplace.
Her face softened when he entered the room.
His criticism of the president has softened in the past year.
The grass softened my fall.

Recent Examples of soften from the Web

Since then, the biggest opposition network, Globovision, was sold and has softened its criticism while similar fates have befallen newspapers including El Universal.

— christine jenkins, Bloomberg.com, "Colombian Television Networks Pulled Off Air in Venezuela," 24 Aug. 2017
Let this act of dissolution and softening feel like floating.

— bess matassa, Teen Vogue, "Total Solar Eclipse Horoscope," 19 Aug. 2017
The rules regarding who can win the money have softened, and the completion date has been moved back to March 31, 2018.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Google Lunar XPRIZE Pushes Deadline Into 2018," 16 Aug. 2017
Fortunately there are plenty of great beard-specific shampoos out there that use special botanicals to help soften the hair and keep it from getting dried out.

— esquire editors, Esquire, "How to Care for Your Beard," 16 Aug. 2017
Seeking to soften the impact of the formula change, the law increased appropriations this year so that each jurisdiction would see at least a small rise in funding.

— carmen heredia rodriguez, Kaiser Health News, "Congress Revamps Housing Program To Benefit Areas Where HIV Is Spreading," 7 Aug. 2017
Simons’s first women’s collection, presented in Milan in early 2006, hewed to Sander’s preference for black and neutrals while softening the Saxon severity of her cut.

— bob colacello, vanityfair.com, "How Raf Simons Captured the Calvin Klein Empire," 31 July 2017
The U.K.'s approach to Brexit has softened considerably as formal talks over the separation have begun and the scale of the challenges facing Britain has become apparent.

— geoffrey smith, Fortune, "The U.K. Won’t Become a Tax Haven After Brexit, Minister Promises," 31 July 2017
Yet Mrs May’s election setback has raised questions over whether her hard Brexit should be softened.

— The Economist, "The six flavours of Brexit," 22 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'soften.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.