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1. Yielding readily to pressure or weight
    
2. Compassionate and kind; conciliatory
   "he was soft on his children"
    
3. (of sound) relatively low in volume
   "soft voices"; "soft music"
    
4. Easily hurt
   "soft hands"
   - delicate
    
5. Produced with vibration of the vocal cords
   - voiced, sonant
    
6. Not protected against attack (especially by nuclear weapons)
   "soft targets"
    
7. Used chiefly as a direction or description in music
   - piano
    
8. (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected
   - diffuse, diffused
    
9. (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')
    
10. (of a commodity or market or currency) falling or likely to fall in value
    "the market for computers is soft"
     
11. Using evidence not readily amenable to experimental verification or refutation
    "soft data"; "the soft sciences"
     
12. Tolerant or lenient
    "too soft on the children"; "they are soft on crime"
    - indulgent, lenient
     
13. Soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
    - gentle
     
14. Having little impact
    "a soft (or light) tapping at the window"
    - easy, gentle
     
15. Out of condition; not strong or robust; incapable of exertion or endurance
    "he was too soft for the army"
    - flabby, flaccid
     
16. Willing to negotiate and compromise
     
17. Not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship
    "a soft job"
    - cushy, easygoing
     
18. Mild and pleasant
    "a soft breeze"
    - balmy, mild
     
19. Not brilliant or glaring
    "the moon cast soft shadows"; "soft pastel colours"
    - subdued

1. In a relaxed manner; or without hardship
   - 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, 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, softly, softness, soft-spoken, soughing, spirant, spongelike, spongy, squashy, squeezable, squishy, strident, subdued, susurrant, susurrous, tender, unfit, untoughened, velvet, velvety, volume, warmhearted, whispering, woolly, wooly [N. Amer], yielding

Antonym: hard, hardened, loud

Encyclopedia: Soft