1
as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
three weeks of being sick in bed had noticeably softened her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in alleviating
to lessen the shock of
had tried to soften the blow of her rejection to his marriage proposal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in emollient
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in mellowing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of softening
Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
That report throws some cold water on another inflation report that came out earlier in the week that showed some softening in consumer prices.
—Lisa Kailai Han,sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2025
The warmth and steam from the hot glass helps speed along the softening process.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 10 Aug. 2025
Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
On one hand, the job market is softening, and there’s political pressure from the president to slash rates aggressively to 1%.
—Frank Holmes, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The annual bitcoin gathering came amid Beijing’s softening stance on crypto and stablecoins.
—John Liu, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
The Botox kicked in after about a week, softening my forehead lines and keeping my expressions natural.
—Essence, 2 Sep. 2025
This lightweight oil disappears into hair on contact, softening coarse strands, detangling knots, and taming frizz.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 1 Sep. 2025
Colorado’s market is softening some, according to a July report from ResiClub, though housing prices continue to increase.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
According to the Stanford study, their findings may explain why national employment growth for young workers has been stagnant, while overall employment has largely remained resilient since the global pandemic, despite recent signs of softening.
—Shreya Ghosal,dylan Butts, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
Fridays and Saturdays are given over to pleasure and partying, the boundaries between Kingas softening as the week winds down.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
The softening of the labor market is a major factor weighing on the Federal Reserve, as the central bank’s chairman Jerome Powell indicated in his Jackson Hole address that rate cuts could be coming.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
That report throws some cold water on another inflation report that came out earlier in the week that showed some softening in consumer prices.
—Lisa Kailai Han,sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2025
The warmth and steam from the hot glass helps speed along the softening process.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 10 Aug. 2025
Noun
Serving as a throughline for this 40mm model’s development are Genta’s signature, which led to the idea of his signature octagonal shape softening into the sensual curves of a cushion, leaving the ambiguity of a shape that appears round at first glance.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
On one hand, the job market is softening, and there’s political pressure from the president to slash rates aggressively to 1%.
—Frank Holmes, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The annual bitcoin gathering came amid Beijing’s softening stance on crypto and stablecoins.
—John Liu, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
The Botox kicked in after about a week, softening my forehead lines and keeping my expressions natural.
—Essence, 2 Sep. 2025
This lightweight oil disappears into hair on contact, softening coarse strands, detangling knots, and taming frizz.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 1 Sep. 2025
Colorado’s market is softening some, according to a July report from ResiClub, though housing prices continue to increase.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
According to the Stanford study, their findings may explain why national employment growth for young workers has been stagnant, while overall employment has largely remained resilient since the global pandemic, despite recent signs of softening.
—Shreya Ghosal,dylan Butts, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
Fridays and Saturdays are given over to pleasure and partying, the boundaries between Kingas softening as the week winds down.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for softening
Verb
-
America’s retreat from WHO deepens the damage by weakening global systems for monitoring outbreaks, reviewing evidence and maintaining databases such as the Global Burden of Disease.—
Stan Chu Ilo,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
-
That underscored rising concerns of weakening in the labor market, a trend that has shown up in anecdotal evidence for several months.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The funding and additional personnel are aimed at alleviating the growing case backlog, which is nearly 4 million cases.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Furthermore, the company continues to benefit from AI demand outstripping supply, alleviating concerns about potential pricing pressures.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The British government will see a deal it as a vindication of Starmer’s emollient approach to Trump, which has avoided direct confrontation or criticism.—
Zeke Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
-
The British government will see a deal as a vindication of Starmer’s emollient approach to Trump, which has avoided direct confrontation or criticism.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
Between all the aforementioned changes to college sports and the Committee on Infractions' lenient ruling in Michigan football's sign-stealing scandal, now's as good a time as any for Louisville to get started on this.—
Payton Titus,
Louisville Courier Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
-
The authorities decided to be lenient and return the boats after 11 days, with a citation.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Before flowering, the vegetative portion of the plant resembles the desirable amaranth grown for flowers and seeds.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Numerous species are commercially available, from the culinary classic common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) to colorful flowering groundcovers such as elfin thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and creeping thyme (Thymus praecox).—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Further experiments showed that blue LED treatments safely lightened similar squalene stains on silk and polyester, while also mitigating stains from common stain-causing compounds like oleic acid, tomato juice, and orange juice.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Understanding the gravity of a red flag warning and adhering to these precautions is pivotal in mitigating the risk of wildfires during these perilous conditions.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Eventually, when the game came to a merciful close, attention turned back to the health of Guerrero.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Founded in the mid-19th century as a grocery store in Greenwich Village, the bar retains a patina of its early years—the dim interior, wood walls, the merciful lack of thunka-thunk music.—
Harrison Hill,
AFAR Media,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This evolution in masculinity, where vulnerability and authenticity are valued, moves away from the restrictive path in which the men interviewed by USA TODAY were raised.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Leaning into its own evolution over retro homage or elegant pastiche, Art of Vengeance shows the value that a two-dimensional platformer can have at a time when exorbitant AAA games all suffer from overly ambitious bloat.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Softening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/softening. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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