soft - Definition | Dictionary definition of soft

Definition of soft

yielding readily to pressure or weight

Synonyms:: brushed, fleecy, napped
(of fabrics) having soft nap produced by brushing; cheeselike
having the consistency of cheese; compressible, squeezable
capable of being easily compressed; cottony
resembling cotton; as soft as cotton; cushioned, cushiony, padded
softened by the addition of cushions or padding; demulcent, emollient, salving, softening
having a softening or soothing effect especially to the skin; downlike, downy, flossy, fluffy
like down or as soft as down; flaccid
drooping without elasticity; wanting in stiffness; flocculent, woolly, wooly
having a fluffy character or appearance; yielding
lacking stiffness and giving way to pressure; mushy
having the consistency of mush; overstuffed
upholstered thickly and deeply; semisoft, softish
somewhat soft; spongelike, spongy, squashy, squishy
easily squashed; resembling a sponge in having soft porous texture and compressibility; velvet, velvety
resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface

Antonyms:: hard
resisting weight or pressure; adamantine
having the hardness of a diamond; al dente
of pasta cooked so as to be firm when eaten; corneous, hornlike, horny
made of horn (or of a substance resembling horn); erect, tumid
of sexual organs; stiff and rigid; firm, solid
not soft or yielding to pressure; granitelike, granitic, rocklike, stony
hard as granite; hardened, set
converted to solid form (as concrete); woody
made hard like wood as the result of the deposition of lignin in the cell walls; petrous, stonelike
(of bone especially the temporal bone) resembling stone in hardness; semihard
somewhat hard; steely
resembling steel in hardness; unyielding
resistant to physical force or pressure; show more antonyms...

compassionate and kind; conciliatory

"he was soft on his children"

Synonyms:: tender
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality; warmhearted
marked by warmth of feeling like kindness and sympathy and generosity; mellow
having attained to kindliness or gentleness through age and experience

Antonyms:: hard
dispassionate; difficult
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; merciless, unmerciful
having or showing no mercy; insensitive
deficient in human sensibility; not mentally or morally sensitive; tough
not given to gentleness or sentimentality; calculating, calculative, conniving, scheming, shrewd
used of persons; case-hardened, hard-boiled, hardened
used of persons; emotionally hardened; steely
resembling steel as in hardness; show more antonyms...

(of sound) relatively low in volume

"soft voices"

"soft music"

Synonyms:: quiet
free of noise or uproar; or making little if any sound; dull, muffled, muted, softened
being or made softer or less loud or clear; euphonious
(of speech or dialect) pleasing in sound; not harsh or strident; gentle
quiet and soothing; hushed, subdued
in a softened tone; little, small
(of a voice) faint; low, low-toned
very low in volume; murmuring, susurrant, whispering
making a low continuous indistinct sound; murmurous, rustling, soughing, susurrous
characterized by soft sounds; soft-footed
sound of quiet gentle steps; soft-spoken
having a speaking manner that is not loud or harsh

Antonyms:: loud
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity; audible, hearable
heard or perceptible by the ear; noisy
full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds; big
loud and firm; blaring, blasting
unpleasantly loud and penetrating; clarion
loud and clear; deafening, earsplitting, thunderous, thundery
loud enough to cause (temporary) hearing loss; earthshaking
loud enough to shake the very earth; harsh-voiced
having an unusually harsh sound; loud-mouthed
given to loud offensive talk; loud-voiced
having an unusually loud voice; shattering
seemingly loud enough to break something; violently rattling or clattering; shouted, yelled
in a vehement outcry; trumpet-like
resembling the sound of a trumpet; vocal
full of the sound of voices; show more antonyms...

easily hurt

"soft hands"

produced with vibration of the vocal cords

Antonyms:: unvoiced
produced without vibration of the vocal cords; hard, surd, voiceless; whispered
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords; show more antonyms...

not protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons)

"soft targets"

Antonyms:: hardened
protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons)

used chiefly as a direction or description in music

Synonyms:: piano; pianissimo
chiefly a direction or description in music; very soft; pianissimo assai
chiefly a direction or description in music; very soft

Antonyms:: forte
used chiefly as a direction or description in music; loud; fortemente
chiefly a direction or description in music; loud and strong; fortissimo
chiefly a direction or description in music; show more antonyms...

(of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected

Antonyms:: hard
(of light) transmitted directly from a pointed light source; concentrated; show more antonyms...

(of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the hard palate; characterized by a hissing or hushing sound (as `s' and `sh')

Synonyms:: continuant, fricative, sibilant, spirant, strident
of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then'); palatal, palatalised, palatalized
produced with the front of the tongue near or touching the hard palate (as `y') or with the blade of the tongue near the hard palate (as `ch' in `chin' or `j' in `gin')

Antonyms:: hard
(of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward or touching the velum; velar
produced with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft palate (as `k' in `cat' and `g' in `gun' and `ng' in `sing'); show more antonyms...

(of a commodity or market or currency) falling or likely to fall in value

"the market for computers is soft"