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What is the difference between soft and light?

soft | light | Synonyms |

Light is a synonym of soft.



In lang=en terms the difference between soft and light

is that soft is lacking strength or resolve, wimpy while light is easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile.

In archaic terms the difference between soft and light

is that soft is be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast while light is to alight.

In obsolete terms the difference between soft and light

is that soft is softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly while light is unchaste, wanton.

As an interjection soft

is be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

As a verb light is

to start (a fire).

As a proper noun Light is

{{surname|lang=en}.

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 ----

    light

    English

    Alternative forms

    * lite (informal); lyght, lyghte (obsolete) * (l) (Scotland)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (wikipedia light) (en noun)
  • (uncountable) The natural medium emanating from the Sun and other very hot sources (now recognised as electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 400-750 nm), within which vision is possible.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=3 citation , passage=Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light .}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Out of the gloom , passage=[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light' to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of ' light in the villages.}}
  • A source of illumination.
  • * , chapter=5
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights , […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.}}
  • Spiritual or mental illumination; enlightenment, useful information.
  • * Shakespeare
    • He shall never know / That I had any light of this from thee.
  • Facts; pieces of information; ideas, concepts.
  • * , Book I, New York 2001, page 166:
    • Now these notions are twofold, actions or habits […], which are durable lights and notions, which we may use when we will.
  • A notable person within a specific field or discipline.
  • * Tennyson
    • Joan of Arc, a light of ancient France
  • (painting) The manner in which the light strikes a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or other scene; opposed to shade .
  • A point of view, or aspect from which a concept, person or thing is regarded.
  • * South
    • Frequent consideration of a thing shows it in its several lights and various ways of appearance.
  • A flame or something used to create fire.
  • A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or coloured flame.
    • a Bengal light
  • A window, or space for a window in architecture.
  • The series of squares reserved for the answer to a crossword clue.
  • (informal) A cross-light in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.
  • Open view; a visible state or condition; public observation; publicity.
  • * Shakespeare
    • The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light .
  • The power of perception by vision.
  • * Bible, Psalms xxxviii. 10
    • My strength faileth me; as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me.
  • The brightness of the eye or eyes.
  • * Shakespeare
    • He seemed to find his way without his eyes; / For out o'door he went without their helps, / And, to the last, bended their light on me.
  • A traffic light, or, by extension, an intersection controlled by one.
    • Synonyms
    * (electromagnetic wave perceived by the eye) visible light
    Derived terms
    * ancient lights * black light * booklight * bring to light * come to light * fanlight * footlight * gaslight * half-light * headlight * hide one's light under a bushel * lamplight * light at the end of the tunnel * light box, lightbox * light bucket * light globe * Light of the World * lightbulb * lighthouse * ! * moonlight * nightlight * searchlight * see the light * skylight * spotlight * strike a light * sunlight * twilight * Very light * white light

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To start (a fire).
    • We lit the fire to get some heat.
  • To set fire to; to set burning; to kindle.
    • She lit her last match.
  • * Hakewill
    • if a thousand candles be all lighted from one
  • * Addison
    • Absence might cure it, or a second mistress / Light up another flame, and put out this.
  • To illuminate.
    • I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night.
  • * F. Harrison
    • One hundred years ago, to have lit' this theatre as brilliantly as it is now ' lighted would have cost, I suppose, fifty pounds.
  • * Dryden
    • The Sun has set, and Vesper, to supply / His absent beams, has lighted up the sky.
  • To become ignited; to take fire.
    • This soggy match will not light .
  • To attend or conduct with a light; to show the way to by means of a light.
  • * Landor
    • His bishops lead him forth, and light him on.
    Synonyms
    * ignite, kindle, conflagrate * (illuminate) illuminate, light up
    Antonyms
    * extinguish, put out, quench
    Derived terms
    * light someone's fire * light up * highlight

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) (m), (etyl) (m).

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Having light.
  • Pale in colour.
  • *
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the Sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.}}
  • (of coffee) Served with extra milk or cream.
    • Synonyms
    * (having light) bright * (pale in colour) pale * : white, with milk, with cream
    Derived terms
    * light-haired * light-skinned

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Of low weight; not heavy.
    • My bag was much lighter once I had dropped off the books.
  • * Addison
    • These weights did not exert their natural gravity insomuch that I could not guess which was light or heavy whilst I held them in my hand.
  • Lightly-built; designed for speed or small loads.
    • We took a light aircraft down to the city.
  • (senseid)Gentle; having little force or momentum.
    • This artist clearly had a light , flowing touch.
  • Easy to endure or perform.
    • light duties around the house
  • * Dryden
    • Light sufferings give us leisure to complain.
  • Low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt, etc.
    • This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it.
  • Unimportant, trivial, having little value or significance.
    • I made some light comment, and we moved on.
  • travelling with no carriages, wagons attached
  • (obsolete) Unchaste, wanton.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , I.i:
    • Long after lay he musing at her mood, / Much grieu'd to thinke that gentle Dame so light , / For whose defence he was to shed his blood.
  • * Shakespeare
    • So do not you; for you are a light girl.
  • * Shakespeare
    • A light wife doth make a heavy husband.
  • Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons.
    • light''' troops; a troop of '''light horse
  • Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments; hence, active; nimble; swift.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • Unmarried men are best friends, best masters but not always best subjects, for they are light to run away.
  • (dated) Easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile.
    • a light''', vain person; a '''light mind
  • * Tillotson
    • There is no greater argument of a light and inconsiderate person than profanely to scoff at religion.
  • Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; lacking dignity or solemnity; frivolous; airy.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Seneca can not be too heavy, nor Plautus too light .
  • * Hawthorne
    • specimens of New England humour laboriously light and lamentably mirthful
  • Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or deranged; dizzy; giddy.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Are his wits safe? Is he not light of brain?
  • Not of the legal, standard, or usual weight; clipped; diminished.
    • light coin
    Synonyms
    * (of low weight) * (lightly-built) lightweight * (having little force or momentum) delicate, gentle, soft * lite, lo-cal (low in calories), low-alcohol (low in alcohol) * (having little value or significance) inconsequential, trivial, unimportant
    Antonyms
    * (of low weight) heavy, weighty * (lightly-built) cumbersome, heavyweight, massive * (having little force or momentum) forceful, heavy, strong * calorific (high in calories), fatty (high in fat), strong (high in alcohol) * (having little value or significance) crucial, important, weighty
    Derived terms
    * light as a feather * lightness

    Adverb

    (er)
  • Carrying little.
    • I prefer to travel light.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (curling) A stone that is not thrown hard enough.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • (nautical) To unload a ship, or to jettison material to make it lighter
  • To lighten; to ease of a burden; to take off.
  • * Spenser
    • His mailèd habergeon she did undight, / And from his head his heavy burgonet did light .
    Derived terms
    * lighter

    Etymology 5

    (etyl)

    Verb

  • To find by chance.
    • I lit upon a rare book in a second-hand bookseller's.
  • (archaic) To alight.
    • She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet.
    Synonyms
    * (find by chance) chance upon, come upon, find, happen upon, hit upon * (alight) alight, land
    Derived terms
    * light into * light out

    Statistics

    * English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----