verb
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to make or become soft or softer
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to make or become gentler
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(intr) commerce
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(of demand, a market, etc) to weaken
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(of a price) to fall
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Other Word Forms
- oversoften verb
- resoften verb
- unsoftening adjective
Etymology
Origin of soften
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These included suspending duties on all imports with the exception of those from Russia and Belarus and adjusting the carbon border tax to soften its impact, she said.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Add red pepper flakes and dried oregano, letting them bloom in the fat just long enough to wake up—fragrant, a little toasty, the edges of their flavor beginning to soften and deepen.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
The International Energy Agency is currently assessing whether tapping reserves of oil further is needed to soften the blow from spiking prices.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
Kebede said schools would struggle to fund an increase in teachers' pay of even 2% next year from their budgets, and the inclusion fund would "merely soften the blow of underfunding".
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
To soften the effect of his speech, Douglass offered some kind words about Stanton.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.