soften

«soften» in Mova's judaism dictionary: to become softer or to make something softer («soften the… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (soften, softens, softened, softening)

meaning for a pupil

1) To soften means to become softer or to make something softer («soften the butter»). tree →

2) To soften means to become or make something gentler, kinder or less strong («soften the blow», «her face softened»). tree →

sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Here it means giving a letter its lighter, unstressed sound instead of its hard one. Interpretation: The two voices of the double letters are read as showing how each thing in creation can have two opposite sides. In the primary lessons: In science and cooking, heat softens butter, chocolate and wax; water softens clay and dry bread. In everyday life and stories people soften their voice or words to be kind, and an angry face softens when someone calms down. Phrases: «soften the blow», «soften up», «softened butter».

examples

• The two sounds of each letter are the hard and the soft—the aspirated and the softened. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• The two sounds of each letter are the hard and the soft — the aspirated and the softened. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• There were formed seven double letters, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, Resh, Tau, each has two voices, either aspirated or softened. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
• Leave the butter out to soften before baking. tree →
• The sun softened the chocolate in my pocket. tree →
• Her face softened when she saw the kitten. tree →
• Soak the beans to soften them. tree →
• Try to soften your voice when you speak to the baby. tree →
• Dad softened the bad news with a hug. tree →
• Heat softens the wax so you can shape it. tree →
• The ice cream softened quickly on the warm plate. tree →
• The eyes of women brightened and softened when they looked at me. tree →

note

The t is silent: SOF-en. Regular verb: «softened». Opposite: «harden». Related: «soft», «softener» (fabric softener).

In the corpora

• Even sugar-free fizzy drinks are acidic and can soften enamel; water and milk are the safest drinks for teeth.
• Acid softens tooth enamel for a short time, so it is better to wait a while after a fizzy drink before brushing.
• Bread goes stale as its starch slowly lines up and squeezes out water; warming it in the oven softens it for a while.
• Many plastics soften when heated, because heat lets the chains move; burning plastic gives off poisonous fumes.
• Kind words soften the truth: wrinkles become "laughter lines" and a balding man is "thinning on top".

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «soften» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.