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Softening   /sˈɔfənɪŋ/  /sˈɔfnɪŋ/   Listen
Softening

noun
1.
The process of becoming softer.  "He observed the softening of iron by heat"
adjective
1.
Having a softening or soothing effect especially to the skin.  Synonyms: demulcent, emollient, salving.


Soften

verb
(past & past part. softened; pres. part. softening)
1.
Make (images or sounds) soft or softer.  Antonym: sharpen.
2.
Lessen in force or effect.  Synonyms: break, damp, dampen, weaken.  "Break a fall"
3.
Give in, as to influence or pressure.  Synonyms: relent, yield.  Antonym: stand.
4.
Protect from impact.  Synonyms: buffer, cushion.
5.
Make less severe or harsh.  Synonyms: mince, moderate.
6.
Make soft or softer.  Antonym: harden.
7.
Become soft or softer.  Antonym: harden.



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WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University


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"Softening" Quotes from Famous Books



... say I am not a master of strategy," I cried, furious at myself for my moment of weakness and at him for the softening tone which had crept into his voice. "I am merely—honest. And when I see Aunt ...
— Spanish Doubloons • Camilla Kenyon
... Roll the bones!" "Get off! Get off! Come on now, Spikes—cough up! You've got the money now. Pay back. No more loans if you don't." "Once on the fours—the fives—the aces!" "Roll the bones! Roll the bones! Come on!" Or, if he saw me, softening and saying, "Gee, Dreiser, I'm ahead twenty-eight so far!" or "I've lost thirty all told. I'll stick this out, though, to win or lose five more, and then I'll quit. I give notice, you fellows, five more, one way or the other, and then I'm through. See? Say, these damned sharks are always trying ...
— Twelve Men • Theodore Dreiser
... be treated kindly and kept in restraint far from the locality of their former reservation; they should be subjected to efforts calculated to lead to their improvement and the softening of their savage and cruel instincts, but their return to their old home should be ...
— Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to the Present • Various
... softening the steel, annealing benefits the metal by relieving strains in the piece. Should a particularly accurate job be called for, the steel should be annealed again after the roughing cuts have been taken and before ...
— The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 - 700 Things For Boys To Do • Popular Mechanics
... the centre of the camp, Miss Greeby took a hesitating step as though to follow him. In her opinion Chaldea was much too good-looking, let alone clever, for Lambert to deal with alone. Gentilla Stanley saw the look on the hard face and the softening of the hard eyes as the cheeks grew rosy red. From this emotion she drew her conclusions, and she chuckled to think of how true a fortune she could tell the visitor on these premises. Mother Cockleshell's fortune-telling ...
— Red Money • Fergus Hume


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