soften
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
soften
- /ˈsɒfən/ UK
- /ˈsɔfən/ US
- /ˈsɑfən/ Canada, US, cot caught merger
- /ˈsɒfən/
- /ˈsɔfən/ Australia
- /ˈsɒfən/ New Zealand
- [ˈsɔ̟fən] New Zealand
Where it comes from
From Middle English softenen, softnen, equivalent to soft + -en.
verb softens · softening · softened
- To make something soft or softer. Soften the butter before beating in the sugar.
- To undermine the morale of someone (often soften up). Before the invasion, we softened up the enemy with the artillery.
- To make less harsh. Having second thoughts, I softened my criticism.
- To become soft or softer. The butter softened as it warmed up.
- To become or make (a consonant) more lenis, to lenite.
- To palatalize.
Similar: emolliate, mollify, soften, tenderize · Opposite: harden
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: moderate, relent, weaken, break, yield, dampen, damp, cushion, buffer, mince, soothe, relax, mitigate, assuage, allay, alleviate
Translations
Every language
verb (transitive) To make something soft or softer
| Español | ablandar, suavizar, emblandecer, reblandecer, enllentecer, enternecer |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 軟化 /软化 ruǎnhuà |
| Português | amolecer |
| Français | adoucir |
| Deutsch | aufweichen, weichen |
| Italiano | ammorbidire, addolcire |
| Română | muia, înmuia |
| Русский | смягча́ть smjaxčátʹ, смягчи́ть smjaxčítʹ, размягча́ть razmjaxčátʹ, размягчи́ть razmjaxčítʹ |
verb (transitive) To undermine the morale of someone (often soften up)
| Italiano | rendere arrendevole |
|---|
verb (transitive) To make less harsh
| Español | suavizar |
|---|---|
| Português | suavizar |
| Italiano | rendere malleabile, addolcire, ammorbidire |
| Русский | смягча́ть smjaxčátʹ, смягчи́ть smjaxčítʹ |
verb (intransitive) To become soft or softer
| Español | ablandarse, lentecer, enllentecerse, reblandecerse, relentecer, relentecerse |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 柔らかくなる yawarakaku naru, 軟らかくなる yawarakaku naru |
| 中文 | 變軟 /变软 biànruǎn |
| Deutsch | aufweichen, weichen |
| Italiano | ammorbidirsi |
| Русский | смягча́ться smjaxčátʹsja, смягчи́ться smjaxčítʹsja, размягча́ться razmjaxčátʹsja, размягчи́ться razmjaxčítʹsja |
Talk about this word "soften." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/soften. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. soften. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/soften "soften." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/soften.Cite this
@misc{soften_2026,
title = {soften},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/soften},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
