soften
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 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
- 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.