soften

Word parts

soft + -en

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /ˈsɒfən/, enPR: sŏf′en
• (US) IPA ^(key): /ˈsɔfən/, enPR: sôf′en

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

Plain form soften

Third-person singular softens

Past tense softened

Past participle softened

Present participle softening

1. If you soften something, then you make it soft or softer.
   • Antonym: harden

   You will have to use this to beat the flour to soften it before we can use it to make our cake.

2. When you soften your words, you make it less harsh and less critical.

   Seeing that she was about to cry, I softened my tone and criticism about her project.

Related words

• soft
• softener