1. Yielding readily to pressure or weight
   "The soft pillow conformed to the shape of her head"
    
2. Compassionate and kind; conciliatory
   "he was soft on his children"
    
3. Pleasantly without extremes
   "a soft breeze";
   - balmy, mild
    
4. Kind; not harsh, stern or severe
   "a soft reprimand";
   - gentle
    
5. Tolerant or lenient
   "too soft on the children"; "they are soft on crime";
   - indulgent, lenient
    
6. Willing to negotiate and compromise
   "The soft approach to diplomacy yielded positive results"
    
7. (of sound) relatively low in volume
   "soft voices"; "soft music"
    
8. (used chiefly as a direction or description in music) soft; in a quiet, subdued tone
   "the soft passages in the composition";
   - piano
    
9. Not brilliant or glaring
   "the moon cast soft shadows"; "soft pastel colours";
   - subdued
    
10. (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected
    "The soft, diffuse light of the cloudy day was perfect for photography";
    - diffuse, diffused
     
11. Not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship
    "a soft job";
    - cushy [informal], easygoing, easy-going
     
12. Having little impact
    "a soft (or light) tapping at the window";
    - easy, gentle
     
13. Easily hurt
    "soft hands";
    - delicate
     
14. Out of condition; not strong or robust; incapable of exertion or endurance
    "he was too soft for the army";
    - flabby, flaccid
     
15. Not protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons)
    "soft targets"
     
16. Produced with vibration of the vocal cords
    "The soft consonants in the word were difficult to pronounce";
    - voiced, sonant
     
17. (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')
    "The soft 'sh' sound in 'hush' is formed by the tongue near the palate"
     
18. (of a commodity or market or currency) falling or likely to fall in value
    "the market for computers is soft"
     
19. Using evidence not readily amenable to experimental verification or refutation
    "soft data"; "the soft sciences"

1. In a relaxed manner; or without hardship
   "He treaded soft on the creaky floorboards";
   - easy

Derived forms: softer, softest

See also: brushed, cheeselike, clement, compressible, conciliative, conciliatory, continuant, cottony, cushioned, cushiony, demulcent, downlike, downy, dull, easy, emollient, euphonious, falling, flaccid, fleecy, flocculent, flossy, fluffy, fricative, gentle, hardness, hushed, intensity, light, little, loudness, low, low-toned, mellow, mellowed, mild, muffled, murmuring, murmurous, mushy, muted, napped, overstuffed, padded, palatal, palatalised [Brit], palatalized, permissive, pianissimo, pianissimo assai, qualitative, quiet, rustling, salving, semisoft, sibilant, small, softened, softening, soft-footed, softish, soft-spoken, soughing, spirant, spongelike, spongy, squashy, squeezable, squishy, strident, subdued, susurrant, susurrous, tender, unfit, untoughened, velvet, velvety, volume, warmhearted, warm-hearted, whispering, woolly, wooly [N. Amer], yielding

Antonym: hard, hardened, loud, surd

Encyclopedia: Soft