Soft — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Soft (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. not loud in pitch or volume

   "soft music played in the background while we ate"

   similar: dull, gentle, low, quiet
   related: dead, silent, still, calm, dreamy, hushed, peaceful, restful, serene, soothing, stilly, tranquil, muffled, muted, softened, toned (down)
   opposite: blaring, blasting, booming, clamorous, clangorous, deafening, earsplitting, loud, overloud, piercing, plangent, resounding, ringing, roaring, sonorous, stentorian, thundering, thunderous
   near: brazen, crashing, dinning, discordant, noisy, obstreperous, raucous, rip-roaring, vociferous, grating, harsh, shrill, squealing, strident, clarion, clear, trumpetlike

2. smooth or delicate in appearance or feel

   "I like this sweater the best because it is so soft and comfortable"

   similar: cottony, downy, satin, satiny, silken, silklike, silky, velvetlike, velvety
   related: creamy, chiffon, delicate, fine, slick, ultrasoft
   opposite: coarse, harsh, rough, scratchy
   near: bumpy, irregular, jagged, lumpy, pebbly, broken, ragged, roughened, rugged, scraggy, grainy, granular, gritty

3. giving easily to the touch

   "soft mattresses make it very easy to fall asleep, but they have a tendency to get lumpy"

   similar: flabby, mushy, pulpy, spongy, squashy, squishy, squooshy
   related: doughy, fleshy, droopy, flaccid, floppy, lank, limp, slack, yielding, bendable, compressible, crushable, elastic, flexible, kneadable, malleable, pliable, pliant, resilient, supple, willowy, workable, airy, light
   opposite: firm, hard, solid
   near: inelastic, inflexible, rigid, stiff, tense, unbending, unyielding, resistant, sound, strong, sturdy, tough, case-hardened, crush-proof, hardened, indurated, stiffened, tempered, compacted, compressed, condensed, adamantine, rock, rocklike, substantial

4. involving minimal difficulty or effort

   "looking for a soft job in local government"

   similar: cheap, downhill, easy, effortless, facile, fluent, fluid, hands-down, light, painless, ready, royal, simple, smooth, snap
   related: idiotproof, mindless, quick, straightforward, unchallenging, uncomplicated, apparent, clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, manifest, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, transparent, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable
   opposite: arduous, demanding, difficult, exacting, formidable, grueling, hard, herculean, killer, labored, laborious, murderous, rough, severe, stiff, strenuous, toilful, toilsome, tough
   near: burdensome, exhausting, onerous, oppressive, painful, stressful, taxing, troublesome, abstruse, complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty, problematic, recondite

5. lacking bodily strength

   "soft recruits who will get toughened up in the army"

   similar: asthenic, debilitated, delicate, down-and-out, effete, enervated, enfeebled, faint, feeble, frail, infirm, languid, low, prostrate, prostrated, sapped, slight, softened, tender, unsubstantial, wasted, weak, weakened, wimpish, wimpy
   related: disabled, incapacitated, invalid, paralyzed, broken-down, decrepit, impotent, powerless, breakable, flimsy, fragile, dizzy, groggy, rocky, unsteady, woozy, drained, exhausted, flagging, tired, weary, worn-out, damaged, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, unsound, resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding
   opposite: mighty, powerful, rugged, stalwart, stout, strong
   near: able-bodied, athletic, beefy, brawny, fit, husky, muscular, sinewy, strapping, virile, hard, hardy, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sturdy, tough, fortified, hardened, inured, strengthened, toughened, energetic, energized, invigorated, vigorous, vitalized, hale, healthy, sound, capable, competent, convalescing, recovering, recuperating

6. lacking strength of will or character

   "a soft person who tends to yield to stronger personalities"

   similar: characterless, effete, frail, invertebrate, limp-wristed, milk-and-water, namby-pamby, nerveless, spineless, weak, weak-kneed, weakened, weakling, wet (British), wimpish, wimpy, wishy-washy
   related: flabby, flaccid, forceless, ineffective, ineffectual, impotent, impuissant, powerless, emasculated, unnerved, lamblike, meek, pliable, submissive, corrupt, dastardly, unprincipled, unscrupulous, villainous, cowardly, craven, fainthearted, lily-livered, nebbishy, poltroon, pusillanimous, sissy, timid, infirm, irresolute, vacillating
   opposite: backboned, firm, hard, strong, tough
   near: ethical, good, moral, principled, right, righteous, upright, virtuous, determined, mettlesome, resolute, unrelenting, courageous, stalwart, stouthearted

7. not harsh or stern especially in nature or effect

   "a soft breeze coming off the lake"

   similar: balmy, benign, bland, delicate, gentle, light, mellow, mild, nonabrasive, soothing, tender
   related: calm, pacific, peaceful, placid, quiet, serene, tranquil, clement, compassionate, easy, lenient, merciful, buffering, cushioning, emollient, softening, sleek, slick, smooth
   opposite: abrasive, caustic, coarse, hard, harsh, rough, scathing, stern, ungentle
   near: exquisite, fierce, intense, powerful, severe, forceful, forcible, savage, violent, roughened, rugged, strong, abrading, irritating, roughening, grim, gruff, rude, stiff, heavy-handed, oppressive, pitiless, tyrannical

8. providing physical comfort

   "a warm, soft bed to rest my weary bones"

   similar: comfortable, comfy, cozy, cushy, easy, snug
   related: easeful, relaxing, reposeful, restful, gemütlich, genial, hospitable, inviting, pleasant, commodious, roomy, spacious, homelike, homely, homey, intimate
   opposite: uncomfortable
   near: hard, harsh, severe, inhospitable, uninviting, unpleasant

9. tolerant and kind in the judgment of and expectations for others

   "felt that his wife had been a little too soft on their son, and that more discipline was in order"

   similar: charitable, clement, easy, indulgent
   related: accommodating, acquiescent, amenable, obliging, easygoing, laid-back, undemanding
   opposite: hard, harsh, severe, stern, strict
   near: demanding, uncharitable, unforgiving, inflexible, intolerant, unbending, uncompromising, unyielding

10. marked by temperatures that are neither too high nor too low

    "it was a lovely soft spring evening"

    similar: balmy, clement, equable, genial, gentle, mild, moderate, temperate
    related: clear, cloudless, fair, rainless, sunny, sunshiny, calm, halcyon, peaceful, placid, tranquil, delightful, fine, pleasant
    opposite: harsh, inclement, intemperate, severe
    near: blustering, blustery, breezy, gusty, rough, squally, stormy, windy, misty, rainy, showery, bleak, cloudy, dismal, foggy, gloomy, gray, hazy, overcast, sunless, bitter, dirty, foul, nasty, raw

11. not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

    "sometimes I wonder if you've gone soft in the head"

    similar: airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, softheaded, stupid, thick, thick-witted, thickheaded, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
    related: cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable
    opposite: apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
    near: ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound, logical, rational, reasonable, valid