What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Soft vs Unmanly - What's the difference?

soft | unmanly |

In of a person|lang=en terms the difference between soft and unmanly

is that soft is (of a person) physically or emotionally weak while unmanly is (of a person) showing characteristics that are not manly, such as being immature, effeminate or cowardly, which might be construed as an indicator of weakness or of baseness of character.

As adjectives the difference between soft and unmanly

is that soft is easily giving way under pressure while unmanly is (of a person) showing characteristics that are not manly, such as being immature, effeminate or cowardly, which might be construed as an indicator of weakness or of baseness of character.

As adverbs the difference between soft and unmanly

is that soft is (lb) softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly while unmanly is in a manner that is unmanly.

As an interjection soft

is (archaic) be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

As a noun soft

is a soft or foolish person; an idiot.

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 ----

    unmanly

    English

    Adjective

  • (of a person) Showing characteristics that are not manly, such as being immature, effeminate or cowardly, which might be construed as an indicator of weakness or of baseness of character.
  • * 1889 , ,
  • 'I do not know which is the worse,' he cried, 'the fraudulent old villain or the unmanly young cub. ...
  • * 1914 , ,
  • He'd be wearing white pants and playing lawn tennis presently if he continued to grow much softer and more unmanly .
  • Of or pertaining to something not human.
  • * 1818 , ,
  • *:: And then, it may be, of his wish to roam
  • *:: Repented he, but in his bosom slept
  • *:: The silent thought, nor from his lips did come
  • *:: One word of wail, whilst others sate and wept,
  • And to the reckless gales unmanly moaning kept.
  • * 1902 , ,
  • I had bought a toy in the street for my own amusement. It represented a woman, a young mother, flinging her little son over her head with one hand and catching him in the other ... The unmanly chuckle always came, I found, when the poor lady dropped her babe, ...
  • (of a behaviour or action) Cowardly, base.
  • * 1590 , ,
  • Full many mischiefes follow cruell Wrath;
  • *:: Abhorred bloodshed and tumultuous strife,
  • *:: Unmanly murder, and unthrifty scath,
  • *:: Bitter despight, with rancours rusty knife,
  • *:: And fretting griefe the enemy of life;
  • *:: All these, and many evils moe haunt ire,
  • *:: The swelling Splene, and Frenzy raging rife,
  • *:: The shaking Palsey, and Saint Fraunces fire:
  • Such one was Wrath, the last of this ungodly tire.
  • * 1827 , ,
  • But when, instead of an impotent and unmanly struggle for existence, he found that his friend had forborne, with the customary and dignified submission of an Indian warrior, until an opportunity had offered to escape, and that he had then manifested the spirit and decision of the most gifted brave, his gratification became nearly too powerful to be concealed.
  • * 1883 , ,
  • When they've got nobody but themselves to think of it don't so much matter as I know of; but to keep on breaking the hearts of those as never did you anything but good, and wouldn't if they lived for a hundred years, is cowardly and unmanly any way you look at it.
  • * 1902 , ,
  • Such a man does not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity, and is not only totally unfitted to rise out of his wretchedness, but is actually attracting to himself a still deeper wretchedness by dwelling in, and acting out, indolent, deceptive, and unmanly thoughts.
  • * 1917 , ,
  • He did not know which was more painful to witness: Hempel's unmanly cringing, or the air of fatuous satisfaction that succeeded it.
  • (of a behaviour or action) Not acceptable of a man.
  • * 1778 , ,
  • Mr. Coverley was quite brutal: he swore at her with unmanly rage, and seemed scarce able to refrain even from striking her.
  • * 1886 , ,
  • "Lor’, sir, you wouldn’t have ’em in short clothes, poor little dears?" And she said it in a tone that seemed to imply I had suggested some unmanly outrage.
  • (of a behaviour or action) Not becoming of a man.
  • * 1868 , ,
  • Jo wanted to lay her head down on that motherly bosom, and cry her grief and anger all away, but tears were an unmanly weakness, and she felt so deeply injured that she really couldn’t quite forgive yet.
  • * 1899 November, , Vol. 99, No. 594,
  • First, the more robust boys considered talking with girls an unmanly occupation; second, the greater part of the boys were afraid; third, they had no idea of what to say, because they esteemed the proper sentences should be supernaturally incisive and eloquent.
  • * 1910 , ,
  • Many voteless women regard a vote as unwomanly. Nobody says that most voteless men regarded a vote as unmanly'. Nobody says that any voteless men regarded it as ' unmanly .

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a manner that is unmanly.
  • * 1878 , The Christian Monitor , vol. 17, page 298,
  • He had acted unmanly , unworthy of a gentleman.
  • * 1900 , , Contending forces : a romance illustrative of negro life north and south ,
  • "That means that we shan't quarrel if I agree to whatever you are going to propose. What is it you want to say?" he asked, becoming grave in his turn. "Is it that I have behaved unmanly in visiting your room in your absence? Why cavil about a little thing of that sort? I do this for you as I would for Dora."
  • * 1914 , Jeff C. Davis Riddle, The Indian history of the Modoc war, and the causes that led to it ,
  • A Yankee who had not "acclimated" well but had retained his native habit of "arguing" things, came to Riddle's one day, and after some talk about a stray horse, intimated that Mr. Riddle had behaved unmanly in the matter. Wi-ne-ma taking in the situation, pitched into Mr. Yank, and before he knew it, his head was bleeding profusely and a strong hand was grasping his throat. He fought back as best he could, but the poor little Yank was in the hands of an enraged Modoc woman, who was pelting him in the face, saying between her licks, "I'll learn you how you talk about my man."