Soft soap

Soft soap
Soft Soft (s[o^]ft; 115), a. [Compar. {Softer} (s[o^]ft"[~e]r); superl. {Softest}.] [OE. softe, AS. s[=o]fte, properly adv. of s[=e]fte, adj.; akin to OS. s[=a]fto, adv., D. zacht, OHG. samfto, adv., semfti, adj., G. sanft, LG. sacht; of uncertain origin.] 1. Easily yielding to pressure; easily impressed, molded, or cut; not firm in resisting; impressible; yielding; also, malleable; -- opposed to {hard}; as, a soft bed; a soft peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal. [1913 Webster]

2. Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth; delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin. [1913 Webster]

They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses. --Matt. xi. 8. [1913 Webster]

3. Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. ``The soft, delicious air.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]

4. Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring; pleasing to the eye; not exciting by intensity of color or violent contrast; as, soft hues or tints. [1913 Webster]

The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds . . . made the softest lights imaginable. --Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster]

5. Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music. [1913 Webster]

Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low, -- an excellent thing in woman. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Soft were my numbers; who could take offense? --Pope. [1913 Webster]

6. Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible; gentle; kind. [1913 Webster]

I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's; Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The meek or soft shall inherit the earth. --Tyndale. [1913 Webster]

7. Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes. [1913 Webster]

A soft answer turneth away wrath. --Prov. xv. 1. [1913 Webster]

A face with gladness overspread, Soft smiles, by human kindness bred. --Wordsworth. [1913 Webster]

8. Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak. [1913 Webster]

A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]

9. Gentle in action or motion; easy. [1913 Webster]

On her soft axle, white she paces even, And bears thee soft with the smooth air along. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

10. Weak in character; impressible. [1913 Webster]

The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's. --Glanvill. [1913 Webster]

11. Somewhat weak in intellect. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]

He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad. --Burton. [1913 Webster]

12. Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers. [1913 Webster]

13. Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines. [1913 Webster]

14. Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap; as, soft water is the best for washing. [1913 Webster]

15. (Phonetics) (a) Applied to a palatal, a sibilant, or a dental consonant (as g in gem, c in cent, etc.) as distinguished from a guttural mute (as g in go, c in cone, etc.); -- opposed to {hard}. (b) Belonging to the class of sonant elements as distinguished from the surd, and considered as involving less force in utterance; as, b, d, g, z, v, etc., in contrast with p, t, k, s, f, etc. [1913 Webster]

{Soft clam} (Zo["o]l.), the common or long clam ({Mya arenaria}). See {Mya}.

{Soft coal}, bituminous coal, as distinguished from anthracite, or hard, coal.

{Soft crab} (Zo["o]l.), any crab which has recently shed its shell.

{Soft dorsal} (Zo["o]l.), the posterior part of the dorsal fin of fishes when supported by soft rays.

{Soft grass}. (Bot.) See {Velvet grass}.

{Soft money}, paper money, as distinguished from coin, or hard money. [Colloq. U.S.]

{Soft mute}. (Phonetics) See {Media}.

{Soft palate}. See the Note under {Palate}.

{Soft ray} (Zo["o]l.), a fin ray which is articulated and usually branched.

{Soft soap}. See under {Soap}.

{Soft-tack}, leavened bread, as distinguished from {hard-tack}, or {ship bread}.

{Soft tortoise} (Zo["o]l.), any river tortoise of the genus Trionyx. See {Trionyx}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Soft soap — Soap Soap, n. [OE. sope, AS. s[=a]pe; akin to D. zeep, G. seife, OHG. seifa, Icel. s[=a]pa, Sw. s?pa, Dan. s?be, and perhaps to AS. s[=i]pan to drip, MHG. s[=i]fen, and L. sebum tallow. Cf. {Saponaceous}.] A substance which dissolves in water,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • soft´-soap´er — soft soap, 1. a liquid or semiliquid soap. 2. Informal. flattery: »He and I are great chums, and a little soft soap will go a long way with him (Thomas Hughes). soft soap «SFT SOHP, SOFT », transitive verb. 1. Informal. to flatter; cajole. 2 …   Useful english dictionary

  • Soft soap — can refer to one of the following: * a general purpose soap that is liquid or easily soluble, as opposed to a hard soap which will only dissolve sparingly. * a hygiene product made exclusively from natural oils. In this case soft prefix is a… …   Wikipedia

  • soft-soap — v [T] BrE informal to say nice things to someone in order to persuade them to do something ▪ Don t think you can soft soap me! >soft soap n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • soft soap — soft′ soap′ n. 1) inf persuasive talk; flattery 2) the semifluid soap produced when potassium hydroxide is used in the saponification of a fat or an oil • Etymology: 1625–35 soft′ soap′, v.t. v.i …   From formal English to slang

  • soft soap — ► NOUN 1) a semi fluid soap. 2) informal persuasive flattery. ► VERB (soft soap) informal ▪ use flattery to persuade …   English terms dictionary

  • soft-soap — verb transitive INFORMAL to be nice to someone when you want them to do something for you ╾ ,soft soap noun uncount …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • soft-soap — soft soaps, soft soaping, soft soaped VERB If you soft soap someone, you flatter them or tell them what you think they want to hear in order to try and persuade them to do something. [V n] The government is not soft soaping the voters here …   English dictionary

  • soft soap — n soap of a semifluid consistency made principally with potash and having various medical uses (as in the treatment of skin diseases) specif GREEN SOAP …   Medical dictionary

  • soft-soap — [sôft′sōp΄] vt. Informal to flatter soft soaper n …   English World dictionary

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