| 释义 |
soften, v.|ˈsɒf(ə)n, -ɔː-|
Also 4–5 softne, 5 Sc. softine, 9 Sc. saften.
[f. soft a. + -en. Cf. soft v.]
I. trans.
1. a. To mitigate, assuage, or diminish; to render less painful or more easy to bear.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 50 That blisful sight softneth al my sorwe. c1415Hoccleve Min. Poems 62 Let your hy worthynesse Oure indigences softne, & abate! 1708Pope Ode St. Cecilia's Day vii, Music can soften pain to ease. a1715Burnet Own Time (1766) II. 13 It would very much soften those apprehensions. 1822Scott Peveril xxxii, His lady, who..shared and softened his imprisonment. 1823― Quentin D. x, All who had contributed to soften the term of his exile. 1842S. Lover Handy Andy xlix, After the lapse of a few days had softened the bitter grief.
absol.c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xlii. (Agatha) 149 Godis angele..vith dew of hewine ma softine sa, Þat þi fyre sal me do na wa. c1400Rom. Rose 1925 It softned heere, and prikkith there.
b. Similarly with off.
1790F. Burney Diary Jan., To soften off, by the air, a violent headache, I determined upon walking to Chelsea. 1849Froude Nemesis of Faith 224 All that woman's care..could do to soften off her end was done.
†c. With personal object: To relieve from pain. Obs.—1
a1400Morte Arth. 2601 This prissonere syr Priamus..Sais that he has saluez salle softene vs bothene.
2. a. To render more impressionable or tender; to affect emotionally.
1435Misyn Fire of Love 102 Þe saule softynand þer þou..þi tempyll has ordand. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 110, I behold them soft'nd and with tears Bewailing thir excess. 1827Scott Jrnl. 7 Nov., I..fairly softened myself like an old fool, with recalling old stories till I was fit for nothing but shedding tears. 1874Mozley Univ. Serm. ix. (1877) 195 Misfortune, adversity, soften the human heart.
b. To enervate, weaken, render effeminate.
1581Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 51 Howe.., before Poets did soften vs, we were full of courage, giuen to martiall exercises. 1615Chapman Odyss. xii. 64 The Sirens will so soften with their song..His loose affections. 1670Cotton Espernon i. iii. 104 A negligent and voluptuous Prince, whose nature being softned, and unnerv'd by ease [etc.]. 1780Mirror No. 94, Softening too much the mind of a young girl, who has to struggle with the difficulties of life. 1828–32Webster s.v., Troops softened by luxury.
c. To make more gentle, delicate, or refined. Also with into.
1709Steele Tatler No. 10 ⁋2 Every Temper..is to be animated and softned by the Influence of Beauty. 1781Cowper Charity 96 This genial intercourse..softens human rock-work into men. 1831Sinclair Corr. II. 370 Attention to music..softens the temper. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. 249 This mixture probably softened the manners of the people from the first. 1868Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 112 Though some divine thought softened all her face.
3. To mollify or appease; to render less harsh or severe.
c1450Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 128 Bot marie softnys his ire als oure best mediatrice. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 591 All which together..Beat at thy rocky..heart, To soften it. 1603― Meas. for M. i. v. 70 All hope is gone, Vnlesse you haue the grace by your faire praier To soften Angelo. 1725De Foe Voy. r. World (1840) 342 To soften them a little, and in some measure to please them. 1780Mirror No. 101, Nor was his resentment softened even by her husband's leaving the army. 1835Thirlwall Greece I. vi. 199 When the sacrifice was designed to soften the anger of an offended deity. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 637 That good prelate used all his influence to soften the gaolers. 1864Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. xv. (1875) 243 It still appeared possible to soften, if not to overcome, their antagonism.
4. a. To make physically soft or softer; to lessen the hardness of (a substance).
1530Palsgr. 724/2 It is harde yet, but I shall soften it well ynoughe. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iii. ii. 79 Orpheus Lute,..Whose golden touch could soften steele and stones. 1604― Oth. iv. iii. 47 Her salt teares fell from her, and softned the stones. 1656Verney Memoirs (1907) II. 51, I see the same sunn that softens Wax, hardens clay. 1750tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 227 Sometimes deceivers will soften the amber and put into it some extraneous matter. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 53 With Fire he..hardens clay, softens iron. 1853A. Soyer Pantroph. 288 They were first softened in milk and honey.
absol.1610Markham Masterp. ii. clxxiii. 484 Armoniacke drieth, cooleth, softneth, and draweth.
b. To make (water) soft.
1771E. Haywood New Present for Maid 267 Hard water may be softened by laying chalk in the bottoms of the wells or ponds. 1867Bloxam Chem. 43 Clark's process for softening waters.
c. Usu. with up. To reduce the strength of (a defensive position) by bombing or other preliminary attack; also transf. Hence fig.: to undermine the resistance of (a person). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1940W. L. Shirer Berlin Diary (1941) 378 Stuka dive-bombers are softening the Allied defense positions, making them ripe for an easy attack. 1942Sun (Baltimore) 3 Feb. 1/5 Japanese air raiders engaged in a grand-scale effort to soften up the stronghold for a final invasion thrust. 1949F. Maclean Eastern Approaches iii. xv. 490 United States Army Air Force Mustangs had ‘softened up’ the target. 1950J. Dempsey Championship Fighting 89 They will enable you to knock out or at least ‘soften up’ an opponent. 1951Here & Now (N.Z.) May 8/2 These fellowships are part of the general system of ‘softening up’ overseas journalists and persuading them to see the advantages of the American way of life. 1952S. Kauffmann Philanderer (1953) xii. 193 ‘You make me feel pretty cruel,’ he said... Then in a moment she smiled. ‘You said that just to soften me up.’ 1962Listener 1 Nov. 706/1 The farming industry is being softened up by the clear indications from ministers that changes are coming in the whole support system, whether or not we go into Europe. 1974Daily Tel. 21 Sept. 15 A man who had told police of goings on in Soho was kidnapped in broad day⁓light, tied to a chair and softened up to find what he had said. 1980G. B. Trudeau Tad Overweight, ‘Over there's my Soviet-made Makarov mortar.’ ‘Mortar? What do you use the mortar for?’ ‘Deer hunting. I like to soften up an area before I hunt it.’
5. a. To modify or tone down; to render less pronounced or prominent.
In certain contexts there is implication of other senses.
(a)1670–1Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 382 The clause that makes them riots is thrown out, and severall other clauses softned. 1712Addison Spect. No. 399 ⁋5 They..do not see our Faults,..or soften them by their Representations. 1714Pope Lett. Wks. 1736 V. 216, I know you will think fit to soften your expression when you see the passage. 1788Gibbon Decl. & F. lii. V. 422 Their stern enthusiasm was softened by time and prosperity. 1812Crabbe Tales xvii. 153, I in vain had tried To soften crime, that cannot be denied. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. 463 The scarcely ambiguous answer was something softened the following day. 1879― Cæsar xx. 346 Others proposed to send a deputation to soften the harshness of his removal.
(b)1810Crabbe Borough ii. 41 For time has soften'd what was harsh when new, And now the stains are all of sober hue. 1835W. Irving Tour Prairies 159 There was a smoky haze in the atmosphere.., softening the features of the landscape. 1884Manch. Exam. 1 Sept. 5/4 An awning..softened the light and hid the bare rafters.
b. Const. into or to.
1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty vi. 29 Horror is softened into reverence. 1784Cowper Task i. 365 'Tis the primal curse, But soften'd into mercy. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 725 These shades, duly softened into each other, will give the idea of a round body. 1842Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. ii. Lay of St. Cuthbert iii, And he utters—a word which we'll soften to ‘Zooks!’
c. With down (or away).
1799–1805Wordsw. Prelude xiv. 246 Thou didst soften down This over-sternness. 1809Malkin Gil Blas xi. iv. ⁋3 Throughout my narrative I softened down the passages likely to give umbrage to my patron. 1866Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. iv, Mrs. Hamley tried sometimes to..soften away opinions which she fancied were offensive to the doctor. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 264 Inconsistencies..are modified and softened down.
6. To make softer in sound.
For Ainsworth's use see the note to soft a. 3 b.
1736Ainsworth Lat. Dict. ii. s.v. D, This letter..is a t hardned, as t is a d softned. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxvi, He spoke to her in accents somewhat softened from their usual harshness. 1824Byron Def. Transf. i. ii, How the soldier's rough strain seems Soften'd by distance to a hymn-like cadence! 1890Science-Gossip XXVI. 17 In our modern word ditch the final letter has been softened or weakened.
II. intr.
7. a. To become soft or softer in various non-physical senses; esp. to become more gentle, tender, or emotional; to grow fainter or less pronounced; Comm. to lose firmness.
1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. ii. 40 We do not know How he may soften at the sight o' th' Childe. 1722–7Boyer Dict. Royal 1, S'adoucir,..to soften, to grow soft. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest i, The terror of La Motte began to subside, and the grief of Adeline to soften. 1794― Myst. Udolpho iii, Its savage features gradually softened. 1838T. Mitchell Aristoph. Clouds 31 The scholar..gradually softens at this submission, and becomes sociable and communicative. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xxi. viii. (1872) X. 163 His eyes..softened finely in hearing, or telling, some trait of nobleness. 1877Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. viii. 212 Never was heart so hard but it softened before so much gentleness. 1947Kiplinger Washington Let. (Kiplinger Washington Agency) 5 Apr., Consumers are not buying quite enough to take up all production. Luxury markets began to soften last fall. 1982Daily Tel. 6 July 15 American rates might soften following the publication of reassuring money supply figures on Friday evening. 1982Times 17 Aug. 12 The shares softened 2p to 168p after announcement of the results.
b. Const. into.
1730Thomson Hymn 25 Shade unperceived so softening into shade. 1771Junius' Lett. liv. (1788) 296 By what gentle degrees the furious, persecuting zeal of Mr. Horne has softened into moderation. 1820L. Hunt Indicator, Deaths Little Children 203 The pain that is in it softens into pleasure.
c. With away, down, or off.
1797Mrs. Radcliffe Ital. xii, The responses softened away in distance. 1833Ritchie Wand. Loire 122 The rocks soften down on the right, and the village of Bouchemain appears. 1840Dickens Master Humphrey's Clock (Tauchn.) III. 285 A crowd, which..softened off in a confused heap of faces. 1879Browning Halbert & Hob 6 Most wildness by degrees Softens away!
8. To become physically soft.
1626Bacon Sylva §840 Many of those Bodies, that will not Melt,..will notwithstanding Soften. 1727Boyer Dict. Royal i, S'amollir,..(perdre sa dureté), to grow soft, tender or pliant, to soften. 1838Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 182 When heated it softens at 302°. 1900Jrnl. Soc. Dyers XVI. 7 The acetate..does not begin to soften below a temperature of 150° C. |