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Soft vs Smooth - What's the difference?

soft | smooth |

In of a person terms the difference between soft and smooth

is that soft is physically or emotionally weak while smooth is suave; sophisticated.

As adjectives the difference between soft and smooth

is that soft is easily giving way under pressure while smooth is having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.

As adverbs the difference between soft and smooth

is that soft is softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly while smooth is smoothly.

As nouns the difference between soft and smooth

is that soft is a soft or foolish person; an idiot while smooth is something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.

As an interjection soft

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

As a verb smooth is

to make smooth or even.

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 ----

    smooth

    English

    (wikipedia smooth)

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (dialectal) * (verb) smoothe

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:The outlines must be smooth , imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.
  • *
  • *:“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable,.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2005, author=Lesley Brown, title=Sophist, extra=, by=(Plato)
  • , passage=Teaching that’s done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother .}}
  • Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
  • :
  • * 2011 , Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England :
  • *:England's path to Poland and Ukraine next summer looked to be a smooth one as goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent gave them a comfortable lead after 31 minutes.
  • Bland; glib.
  • *(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
  • *:This smooth discourse and mild behavior oft / Conceal a traitor.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1912, author=(Gustavus Myers), title= History of the Supreme Court of the United States, page=133
  • , passage=This feeling, grounded on the experience of centuries of oppression, was not to be allayed by smooth explanations on the part of the advocates of the Constitution.}}
  • Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:the only smooth poet of those times
  • *(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • *:Waller was smooth ; but Dryden taught to join / The varying verse, the full-resounding line.
  • *(John Gay) (1685-1732)
  • *:When sage Minerva rose, / From her sweet lips smooth elocution flows.
  • (lb) Suave; sophisticated.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2003, author=T. Lewis Humphrey, isbn=0595272606, title= The Price of Love, page=279
  • , passage=He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.}}
  • (lb) Natural; unconstrained.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2006, author=Mary Kay Moskal and Camille Blachowicz, title= Reading for Fluency, isbn=1593852649, page=3
  • , passage=In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.}}
  • (lb) Unbroken.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1927, author=United States (National Guard Bureau), title= Manual of Basic Training and Standards of Proficiency for the National Guard
  • , page=181 , passage=Demonstrate first by the numbers and then as one smooth movement.}}
  • Placid, calm.
  • *, title= An American Cruiser in the East, page=47
  • , passage=As we worked to the southward, we picked up fair weather, and enjoyed smooth seas and pleasant skies.}}
  • (lb) Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1994, author=Robert E. Swanson, isbn=0801845564, title= A Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Southern Appalachians, page=8
  • , passage=A leaf having a smooth margin, without teeth or indentations of any kind, is called entire.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1997, author=Christopher Dickey, isbn=0684842009, title= Innocent Blood: A Novel, page=91
  • , passage=Out of the handles flipped the smooth blade and the serrated blade, which was dangerously sharp, the flathead screwdrivers, the Phillips screwdriver, the can opener, the awl.}}
  • (lb) Not grainy; having an even texture.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1997, author=Lou Seibert Pappas, isbn=0811815730, title= Sorbets and Ice Creams, page=19
  • , passage=A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.}}
  • (lb) Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2002, author=Candace Irvin, isbn=0373079362, title= For His Eyes Only, page=9
  • , passage=The coffee was smooth , so smooth she took another sip.}}
  • Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2003, author=Eric W. Weisstein, isbn=1584883472, title= CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics, page=419
  • , passage=Any ANALYTIC FUNCTION is smooth . But a smooth function is not necessarily analytic.}}
  • Lacking marked aspiration.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1830, author=Benjamin Franklin Fisk, title= A Grammar of the Greek Language, page=5
  • , passage=

    Synonyms

    * even

    Antonyms

    * rough * uneven * bumpy

    Derived terms

    * smooth breathing * smooth collie * smooth jazz * smooth move * smooth muscle * smooth operator * smooth sailing * smoothen * smoothie * smoothly * smoothness

    Adverb

    (er)
  • Smoothly.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is , or that goes smoothly and easily.
  • * Bible, Genesis xxvii. 16
  • The smooth of his neck.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1860, author=Anne Manning, title=The Day of Small Things citation
  • , passage=Things are often equalized by roughs and smooths being set against one another.}}
  • A smoothing action.
  • (Thackeray)
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006, author=Julienne Van Loon, title=Road Story, isbn=1741146216 citation
  • , passage=She brushes down her hair with a little bit of spit and a smooth of her hand and opens the bright green door, walking a few metres, squinting.}}
  • A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1916, author=William Ernest Castle and Sewall Wright, title=Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-pigs and Rats citation
  • , passage=In the 4-toe stock there is a wide gap between the lowest rough and the smooths which come from the same parents.}}
  • A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1999, author=Peter Childs and Mike Storry, title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture, isbn=0806991356 citation
  • , passage=By the early 1970s, skinhead culture began to mutate into the variant ‘white ethnic’ styles of the suedeheads and smooths .}}
  • (statistics) The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1990, author=Wolfgang Härdle, title=Applied Nonparametric Regression, isbn=0521429501 citation
  • , passage=A smooth of the potato data set has already been given in Figure 1.2.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make smooth or even.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1961, author=William Gibson, title=The Miracle Worker, isbn=0573612382 citation
  • , passage=She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.}}
  • To make straightforward.
  • * 2007 , Beth Kohn, Lonely Planet Venezuela (page 379)
  • Caracas can be a tough place but the tremendously good-natured caraqueños smoothed my passage every step of the way.
  • (statistics, image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1999, author=Murray R. Spiegel and Larry J. Stephens, title=Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Statistics, isbn=0070602816 citation
  • , passage=

    Derived terms

    * smooth down * smooth endoplasmic reticulum * smoother * smooth hound * smoothing circuit * smoothing consumption * smoothing press * smooth out * smooth over * smooth-spoken * smooth-tongued

    See also

    * (smoothing)

    Anagrams

    * (l)