Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

soften

/ˈsɔfən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English

Syllables
soft-en
IPA
/ˈsɔfən/
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make something soft or softer.

Transitive verb

verb

To undermine the morale of someone (often soften up).

Transitive verb

verb

To make less harsh.

Transitive verb

verb

To become soft or softer.

Intransitive verb

verb

To become or make (a consonant) more lenis, to lenite.

verb

To palatalize.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English softenen, softnen, equivalent to soft + -en.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈsɔfən/
  • British English: /ˈsɒfən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

softens (present, singular) softening (participle, present) softened (participle, past) softened (past)

Derived Forms

nonsoftening oversoften presoften resoften softenable softener softeningly unsoftenable unsoftened unsoftening

Phrases

soften someone's cough soften the blow soften the ground soften up soften up the ground

Frequently Paired Words

mollify neshen softness soft

Synonyms

subdue temper emolliate mollify soften tenderize dampen damp weaken break

Antonyms

harden

Questions

How do you pronounce soften?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɔfən/.
What does soften mean?
To make something soft or softer.
Where does soften come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce soften

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “soften”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɔfən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “soften”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “soften” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.