1
as in to coax
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery
she cunningly soft-soaped her parents into letting her go on the trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to honey
to praise too much
shrewd voters who know when a politician is trying to soft-soap them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in butter
excessive praise
a salesman who knows the value of soft soap in making a sale
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of soft-soap
Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025
So do her successes in soft-soaping some recalcitrant senators into supporting the mission’s funding.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
Founder and creative director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning bandages to soft soap, as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021
For spills or stains, spot cleaning with soft soap like Zero or Woolite.
—Rachel Klein, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2021
Founder and Creative Director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning Band-Aids to soft soap as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2021
Later, barber is seen crouching on his bed, holding lighted match under jam jar of water, soft soap and boot blacking.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020
Potassium hydroxide, on the other hand, produces an easily soluble soft soap.
—C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018
Verb
President Donald Trump must stop begging and soft-soaping Vladimir Putin and use our military might to force him to give up his designs upon Ukraine and its neighbors.
—Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025
So do her successes in soft-soaping some recalcitrant senators into supporting the mission’s funding.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Noun
People should wash any skin that comes into contact with the slurry with water and soft soap, before using a hand cream to avoid dryness and cracking.
—Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
Founder and creative director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning bandages to soft soap, as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021
For spills or stains, spot cleaning with soft soap like Zero or Woolite.
—Rachel Klein, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2021
Founder and Creative Director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning Band-Aids to soft soap as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2021
Later, barber is seen crouching on his bed, holding lighted match under jam jar of water, soft soap and boot blacking.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020
Potassium hydroxide, on the other hand, produces an easily soluble soft soap.
—C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for soft-soap
Verb
-
Justine becomes a frequent customer there, hitting the vodka hard and coaxing her occasional hookup, young cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich, terrific), to slide off the wagon.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Aug. 2025
-
The Commanders have publicly committed to $2.7 billion towards the project, but in the revised agreement, the city council was able to coax some financial concessions out of the team.—
Jason Clinkscales,
Sportico.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Those harmonies — simultaneously honeyed and gravelly, providing just enough support without overshadowing, yet so powerful and full of potential — echoes Whitten.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
2 July 2024
-
Enjoy flavored nuts, such as those that are candied, glazed, or honied, in moderation.—
Selene Yeager,
Health,
24 Feb. 2024
Noun
-
Piled high into a thick, split-top bun, the tender chunks of lobster meat are mixed with a just-right amount of mayo (or with warm butter, if that’s your preference) and served with potato chips.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
16 Aug. 2025
-
The seasonal menu leans into Southern ingredients and sustainability, with dishes like Carolina trout with lemon-dill butter or seared scallops over risotto.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The market has grown quicker to discount anything that feels massaged or withheld.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
9 Aug. 2025
-
Our tester loved the cooling effect of the metal applicator, which helped gently massage and depuff the area.—
Esme Benjamin,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The odds are that such sweet talk is going to inevitably run out or at least be intermittent.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 Aug. 2025
-
From there, according to the report, the sweet talk quickly moves to messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Google Chat or Telegram.—
Sunny Nagpaul,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2024
Verb
-
Whitmer, in turn, has commended Hall for putting forward a road funding plan after years of legislative inaction.—
Clara Hendrickson,
Freep.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The group’s president and CEO, Kim Glas, commended Trump for leveraging his presidential authority on the matter.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
30 July 2025
Noun
-
Di Gregorio is joined in the cast by Greta Scarano (Suburra), who also won praise for her feature directorial debut La Vita Da Grandi, as the daughter, and Game of Thrones star Tom Wlaschiha, as her cheating husband who walks from Germany to Rome in search of forgiveness.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Ahead is the chance to earn more than praise as part of the front five.—
Oliver Thomas,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Know-nothings pretend that Schrader’s Bressonian mannerisms reveal the spiritual depths of contemporary crisis, when, in fact, Master Gardener repeats the same social-collapse paranoia that made secular reviewers overpraise the religious, racial, suicide-bomber topics of First Reformed.—
Armond White,
National Review,
24 May 2023
-
He’s overpraised of course.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
16 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Soft-soap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-soap. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share