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Deep vs Soft - What's the difference?

deep | soft |

As adjectives the difference between deep and soft

is that deep is Extending far away from a point of reference, especially downwards.soft is easily giving way under pressure.

As adverbs the difference between deep and soft

is that deep is deeply while soft is softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.

As nouns the difference between deep and soft

is that deep is the deep part of a lake, sea, etc while soft is a soft or foolish person; an idiot.

As an interjection soft is

be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

deep

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Extending far away from a point of reference, especially downwards.
  • #Extending far down from the top or surface; having its bottom far down.
  • #:
  • #:
  • #*1591 , (William Shakespeare), Henry VI, Part 2 :
  • #*:Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.
  • #Far in extent in another (non-downwards, but generally also non-upwards) direction away from a point of reference.
  • #:
  • #In a (specified) number of rows or layers.
  • #:
  • #Thick.
  • #:
  • #*, chapter=5
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.}}
  • #Voluminous.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
  • #A long way inside; situated far in or back.
  • #:
  • ## Far from the center of the playing area, near to the boundary of the playing area, either in absolute terms or relative to a point of reference.
  • ##:
  • ##:
  • ## A long way forward.
  • ##:
  • ##(label) Relatively farther downfield.
  • Complex, involved.
  • #Profound, having great meaning or import, but possibly obscure or not obvious.
  • #:
  • #To a significant, not superficial, extent.
  • #:
  • #:
  • #*2013 September 28, (Kenan Malik), " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
  • #*:While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.
  • #Hard to penetrate or comprehend; profound; intricate; obscure.
  • #:
  • #* (Thomas De Quincey):
  • #*:Why it was that the ancients had no landscape painting, is a question deep almost as the mystery of life, and harder of solution than all the problems of jurisprudence combined.
  • #Of penetrating or far-reaching intellect; not superficial; thoroughly skilled; sagacious; cunning.
  • #*(rfdate), (William Shakespeare):
  • #*:deep clerks
  • Low in pitch.
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
  • , chapter=5, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=The departure was not unduly prolonged.
  • (lb) Dark and highly saturated.
  • :
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet:
  • (lb) Sound, heavy (describing a state of sleep from which one is not easily awoken ).
  • :
  • Immersed, submerged (in).
  • :
  • Muddy; boggy; sandy; said of roads.
  • *(rfdate), :
  • *:The ways in that vale were very deep .
  • Synonyms

    * * (having great meaning) heavy, meaningful, profound * (in extent in a direction away from the observer) * (thick in a vertical direction) thick * (voluminous) great, large, voluminous * (low in pitch) low, low-pitched * bright, rich, vivid

    Antonyms

    * shallow * (having great meaning) frivolous, light, shallow, superficial * (in extent in a direction away from the observer) shallow * (thick in a vertical direction) shallow, thin * (voluminous) shallow, small * (low in pitch) high, high-pitched, piping * light, pale, desaturated, washed-out

    See also

    * tall * wide * high * thick

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • Deeply.
  • * Milton:
  • Deep -versed in books, and shallow in himself.
  • * Alexander Pope:
  • Drink deep , or taste not the Pierian spring.
  • *
  • Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.

    Noun

  • The deep part of a lake, sea, etc.
  • creatures of the deep
  • (US, rare) The profound part of a problem.
  • The sea, the ocean.
  • (cricket) A fielding position near the boundary.
  • Russell is a safe pair of hands in the deep .

    Derived terms

    * ankle-deep * beauty is only skin deep * deep background * deep blue sea * deep copy * deepen * deep down * deep drawing * deep end * deep fat * deep-fet * deep-freeze * deep freezer * deep-fry * deep in the money * deep in thought * deep kiss/deep-kiss * deep-laid * deep link * deep-mouthed * deep out of the money * deep pockets * deep-read * deap sea/deep-sea * deep-seated * deep-set * deep-six * Deep South * deep space * deep structure * deep supporting fire * deep thinker * Deep Thought * Deep Throat * deepthroat * deep vein thrombosis/DVT * deep web * deep well * in too deep * knee-deep * neck-deep * skin-deep * still waters run deep * waist-deep

    See also

    * deeps

    Statistics

    *

    soft

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Easily giving way under pressure.
  • My head sank easily into the soft pillow.
  • (of cloth or similar material) Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.
  • Polish the silver with a soft cloth to avoid scratching.
    soft''' silk; a '''soft skin
  • * Bible, Matt. xi. 8
  • They that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
  • Gentle.
  • There was a soft breeze blowing.
  • * Shakespeare
  • I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's; / Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine.
  • * Tyndale
  • The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.
  • Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.
  • soft eyes
  • * Bible, Proverbs xv. 1
  • A soft answer turneth away wrath.
  • * Wordsworth
  • A face with gladness overspread, / Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.
  • Gentle in action or motion; easy.
  • * Milton
  • On her soft axle, white she paces even, / And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
  • Weak in character; impressible.
  • * Glanvill
  • The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
  • Requiring little or no effort; easy.
  • a soft job
  • Not bright or intense.
  • soft lighting
  • (of a road intersection) Having an acute angle.
  • At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the soft left.
  • (of a sound) Quiet.
  • I could hear the soft rustle of the leaves in the trees.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Her voice was ever soft , / Gentle, and low, — an excellent thing in woman.
  • (linguistics) voiced, sonant
  • DH represents the voiced (soft)'' th ''of English these clothes. —
  • (linguistics, rare) voiceless
  • (linguistics, Slavic languages) palatalized
  • (slang) Lacking strength or resolve, wimpy.
  • When it comes to drinking, he is as soft as they come.
  • (of water) Low in dissolved calcium compounds.
  • You won't need as much soap, as the water here is very soft .
  • (UK, colloquial) Foolish.
  • * Burton
  • He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
  • (physics) Of a ferromagnetic material; a material that becomes essentially non magnetic when an external magnetic field is removed, a material with a low magnetic coercivity. (compare hard)
  • (of a person) Physically or emotionally weak.
  • Incomplete, or temporary; not a full action.
  • The admin imposed a soft''' block/ban on the user or a '''soft lock on the article.
  • (UK, of a man) Effeminate.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft , and wandering.
  • Agreeable to the senses.
  • a soft liniment
    soft wines
  • * Milton
  • the soft , delicious air
  • Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring or jagged; pleasing to the eye.
  • soft colours
    the soft outline of the snow-covered hill
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
  • The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds made the softest lights imaginable.

    Synonyms

    * (of a cloth) non-abrasive, fluffy * (gentle) gentle, light, nesh * (of a sound) quiet * (lacking strength or resolve) meek, mild, wimpy, nesh * (foolish) daft, foolish, silly, stupid

    Antonyms

    * (giving way under pressure) hard, resistant, solid, stony * (of a cloth) abrasive, scratchy * (gentle) harsh, rough, strong * (acute) hard * (of a sound) loud * (lacking strength or resolve) firm, strict, tough * (of water) hard * (foolish) sensible

    Derived terms

    * soft-boiled * soft copy * soft drink * soften * soft focus * soft-hearted * softly * softness * soft on * soft palate * soft power * soft science fiction * soft serve * soft shoe * soft soap * soft-spoken * soft touch * soft toy * software * softwood * softy

    See also

    * mollify

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (archaic) Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Soft , you; a word or two before you go.
    But, soft ! What light through yonder window breaks?

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (lb) Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.
  • *(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • *:A knight soft riding toward them.
  • *
  • *:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A soft or foolish person; an idiot.
  • (George Eliot)

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words ----