英语词汇“soften”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

VERB TABLE

soften

Simple Form
Present	I, you, we, they	soften
	he, she, it	softens
Past	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	softened
Present perfect	I, you, we, they	have softened
	he, she, it	has softened
Past perfect	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had softened
Future	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will soften
Future perfect	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have softened

Continuous Form
Present	I	am softening
	he, she, it	is softening
	you, we, they	are softening
Past	I, he, she, it	was softening
	you, we, they	were softening
Present perfect	I, you, we, they	have been softening
	he, she, it	has been softening
Past perfect	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had been softening
Future	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will be softening
Future perfect	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have been softening

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES

Choose a good moisturizer to soften and protect your skin.
It's a disease that softens and then destroys the bones.
Lawmakers have softened their stance on immigration in recent months.
Leave the butter at room temperature to soften.
Republicans agreed to soften their projected cuts in welfare spending.
Soak the raisins in warm water till they soften.
The government seems to have softened its attitude towards single parents.
The inspector looked angry but then softened when he saw the boy's frightened expression.

EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS

Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 1 minute.
He would not soften his uncompromising terms.
The ice must be softening, and the ice fishing is close to the end.
The weather was perfect all the while we were there, the evenings very lovely, moonlight softened by fog.
Then you can soften the geometric shapes a bit.
This is why the method is often applied to soften and diffuse distant objects or hills, as in atmospheric perspective.
Use the brush to soften the outline, then pencil over lips before applying lipstick.

Longman Language Activatorto become or make something soft► get soft

also go soft British · The wax will get softer as it is heated.· Put the butter in the fridge or it'll go soft.

► soften

to become soft or to make something soft: · Soak the raisins in warm water till they soften.· It's a disease that softens and then destroys the bones.

to become less strict► relent

to change your mind and decide to be less strict about something: · Marjorie finally relented and agreed to meet him.· Prison officials relented and allowed Wilson to receive visits from his family.· He begged and begged to be allowed to go to the game, and in the end I relented.

► soften

to become less strict and more sympathetic towards someone: · The inspector looked angry but then softened when he saw the boy's frightened expression.· The government seems to have softened its attitude towards single parents.

► mellow

to change your attitude and become less strict, especially over a long period of time: · She's mellowed a lot since she retired.mellow with age/time: · He hasn't always been so understanding. He's really mellowed with age.

► go easy on

especially spoken to treat someone less strictly than usual, especially because they have special problems or difficulties: · Go easy on her. She's had a very difficult time since her parents died.· I think you should go easy on Jim.

► ease up on

to stop treating someone so strictly, especially because they do not deserve it or because they are affected badly by it: · I've decided we need to ease up on Sally and take the pressure off her for a while.

► let up on

to treat someone less strictly, especially temporarily after a period of strict treatment: · If you let up on him he'll have a chance to show that he can behave himself.· She never lets up on those poor kids!

COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY► soften the blow/impact

The impact of the tax was softened by large tax-free allowances.

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► soften/cushion the blow

(=make it easier to deal with)· There are various ways to soften the blow of redundancy among staff.

► soften butter

· First soften the butter in a warm place.

► reduce/lessen/soften the impact of something

(=make it less severe or unpleasant)· The chemical industry is looking at ways to reduce its impact on the environment.

COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► up

· He was being put in his place, softened up for what was to come.· I told him we were softening up a bit.· Now the unions are softening up their hard hats.· Hick was softened up with alarming ease by Merv Hughes.· However outré, each item emerges looking chewed over and softened up by the editorial enzymes.· She'd have to be patient until lunchtime, then soften up Penry Vaughan with a snack before she made her request.· Use your own artillery to soften up the enemy units that you wish to attack.

NOUN► attitude

· The Labour Party showed some signs of softening in its attitude to the supporters of the new form of Unity.· But the realisation that the refugee community was not riddled with spies and fifth columnists helped to soften official attitudes.

► blow

· Help, or soften the blow.?· There was no warning, no softening of the blow.· Or will motherhood soften the blow?· Try starting with a pat on the back to soften the blow of criticism.· The Chancellor's flexibility to reduce interest rates much further, to soften the blow of tax increases, looks limited.· Factories had closed, and thousands were out of work, without unemployment insurance to soften the blow.· But you can soften the blow by telling his Dad that none of the other dads can do it either.· Letting some one resign is a way to soften the blow.

► butter

· I gave her a jar of home-made skin cream containing almond oil, cocoa butter and rosewater to soften her skin.

► edge

· There are no curtains to soften its edges and the pelmet is propped up by the bookcase.· Dole repeatedly used humor to soften the edges of his attacks.· The huge moons brims, begins to soften round its edges.· This softens the edges and enhances the informal look.· Try softening the edges a bit by having the king merely banish the brothers to live in the enchanted forest.· And perhaps in the minds of many, the memories of their tragic stay in Oxford were slowly softening at the edges.

► face

· It is often startling how people's faces soften and their bodies relax after crying.· Then his face softened a little, and became almost friendly; he seemed to be coming back to us.· The worried look on Jannie's face softened.· One could not say her face softened, for softness was not in her repertoire of expressions.· The square, severe face had softened, although the ill-shaved chin still looked like granite.· His face softened, his pupils grew bigger, and his irises went deep green like olive oil.· Now is the time to experiment with softer hairstyles, and find new shapes to frame the face and soften features.

► image

· Nothing written above explains him away or softens his image.· Her answer was to soften her hard-edge image by falling back on the feminine basics.· Gramm lately has attempted to soften his image, holding a series of intimate discussions with undecided voters in their kitchens.

► impact

· The latter news softens the impact of the former up to a point.· The leader acts with greater sensitivity to soften the impact of downward power.· He argued that £2.3 billion is needed to soften the impact of the new tax next Spring.· Deaver began suggesting ways to soften the impact by adding new events to the itinerary that might placate the opposition.· The extra cash, however, will only partly soften the impact of the introduction of the poll tax next year.

► stance

· Eventually, he softens his stance, even giving his students $ 5 each time they answer a question correctly.· He called on the senator to soften her get-tough stance on immigrants living in the United States.

► water

· The secret of successful shaving is to soften the skin with water and soap, or a shaving preparation.

VERB► help

· Jennie told Katharine to ask and then give, which would help soften him - and it did.· Increasing the amount of roughage and fibre in the child's diet will also help to soften the stools.· Elian has also helped the softening process along.· This should help to soften them, but they won't be as easy to roll up.

► seem

· Though his words were brutal, his tone seemed to have softened.· He wears sunglasses that have a fading in-built, pinky-orange tint which seem to soften the wrinkles around the eyes.

► try

· But Chancellor Norman Lamont may try to soften the blow with a cut in interest rates.· So manufacturers try to soften it.· She had tried to soften the effect of long sleeves and a high round neck with a pair of pearl stud earrings.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► soften/cushion the blow

Some of the money will be used to soften the blow of budget cuts to education.
Additionally, two presidential decrees on March 23 had been designed to cushion the blow of the price rises.
Even where price increases have taken place, retailers with good stocks may be able to cushion the blow for a while.
Factories had closed, and thousands were out of work, without unemployment insurance to soften the blow.
Help, or soften the blow.?
Letting some one resign is a way to soften the blow.
To cushion the blow, wages and pensions were increased.
Try starting with a pat on the back to soften the blow of criticism.

WORD FAMILYnounsoftnesssoftenersoftie/softyadjectivesoftverbsoftenadverbsoftly