different between soft vs faint
soft
English
Etymology
From Middle English softe, from Old English s?fte, alteration of earlier s?fte (“soft”), from Proto-West Germanic *samft? (“level, even, smooth, soft, gentle”) (compare *s?miz (“agreeable, fitting”)), from Proto-Indo-European *semptio-, *semtio-, from *sem- (“one, whole”). Cognate with West Frisian sêft (“gentle; soft”), Dutch zacht (“soft”), German Low German sacht (“soft”), German sanft (“soft, yielding”), Old Norse sœmr (“agreeable, fitting”), samr (“same”). More at seem, same.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: s?ft, IPA(key): /s?ft/
- (Conservative RP) IPA(key): /s??ft/
- (General American) enPR: sôft, IPA(key): /s?ft/
- (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA(key): /s?ft/, enPR: s?ft
- Rhymes: -?ft
Adjective
soft (comparative softer, superlative softest)
- Easily giving way under pressure.
- (of cloth or similar material) Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.
- (of a sound) Quiet.
- Gentle.
- There was a soft breeze blowing.
- c. 1533, William Tyndale, An exposicion upon of Mathew
- The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.
- Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.
- 1815, William Wordsworth, To a Highland Girl
- A face with gladness overspread, / Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.
- 1815, William Wordsworth, To a Highland Girl
- Gentle in action or motion; easy.
- Weak in character; impressible.
- 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica
- The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
- 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica
- Requiring little or no effort; easy.
- 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Beach of Falesá
- Before that they had been a good deal on the move, trekking about after the white man, who was one of those rolling stones that keep going round after a soft job.
- 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Beach of Falesá
- Not bright or intense.
- Having a slight angle from straight.
- (linguistics) Voiced; sonant.
- 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
- DH represents the voiced (soft) th of English these clothes.
- 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
- (linguistics, rare) voiceless
- (linguistics, Slavic languages) palatalized
- (slang) Lacking strength or resolve; not tough, wimpy.
- (of water) Low in dissolved calcium compounds.
- (Britain, colloquial) Foolish.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Essential Anatomy of Melancholy
- He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Essential Anatomy of Melancholy
- (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.
- (Britain, of a man) Effeminate.
- 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living
- A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering.
- 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living
- Agreeable to the senses.
- Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring or jagged; pleasing to the eye.
- 1673, Edward Browne, A Brief Account of some Travels in Hungaria, Styria, Bulgaria, Thessaly, Austria, Serbia, Carynthia, Carniola, and Friuli
- The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds […] made the softest lights imaginable.
- 1673, Edward Browne, A Brief Account of some Travels in Hungaria, Styria, Bulgaria, Thessaly, Austria, Serbia, Carynthia, Carniola, and Friuli
- (photography, of light) Made up of nonparallel rays, tending to wrap around a subject and produce diffuse shadows.
- (computing) Emulated with software; not physically real.
- (of a drug) Not likely to cause addiction.
Synonyms
- (giving way under pressure): see Thesaurus:soft
- (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
Translations
See also
- mollify
Interjection
soft
- (archaic) Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
Adverb
soft (comparative more soft, superlative most soft)
- (obsolete) Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.
- 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
soft (plural softs)
- A soft or foolish person; an idiot.
- 1859, George Eliot, Adam Bede Part I, Chapter 9
- It'll do you no good to sit in a spring-cart o' your own, if you've got a soft to drive you: he'll soon turn you over into the ditch.
- 1859, George Eliot, Adam Bede Part I, Chapter 9
- (motorsports) Ellipsis of soft tyre (A tyre whose compound is softer than mediums, and harder than supersofts.)
- (colloquial) A soft sound or part of a sound.
- 2012, Sam McGuire, Paul Lee, The Video Editor's Guide to Soundtrack Pro (page 103)
- The expander doesn't really make the louds louder and the softs softer in one step […]
- 2012, Sam McGuire, Paul Lee, The Video Editor's Guide to Soundtrack Pro (page 103)
Czech
Etymology
Borrowed from English soft(ware).
Noun
soft m
- (colloquial) software, program
- 18 March 1999, CD-R 74min X 80min, Group cz.comp.ibmpc:
- Zajimalo by mne, zda jsou tyto CD schopna pracovat na plnou kapacitu s normalnimi vypalovackami a beznym softem nebo je na ne potreba mit extra vypalovadlo i soft?
- 19 March 2009, Zalohovaci SW, Group cz.talk:
- Pokud t?ch dat máte víc, pak tím TARem sta?í zálohovat základ systému a zbytek ?ešit zálohovacím softem, kterej umí d?lit archiv na n?kolik pásek.
- 2 April 2010, gsm modul / telefon, Group cz.comp.linux:
- ma nekdo nejake zkusenosti s takovym zarizenim ci softem kterym to ovladat?
- 18 March 1999, CD-R 74min X 80min, Group cz.comp.ibmpc:
Declension
Further reading
- soft in Kartotéka Novo?eského lexikálního archivu
- soft in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English soft.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s?ft/
Noun
soft m (plural softs)
- (sexuality) soft porn
- (computing, uncountable) Software.
- (computing, countable) A piece of software.
Adjective
soft (plural softs)
- softcore (pornography)
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from English soft.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?s?ft/
Adjective
soft (invariable)
- soft (tone etc; temporary (computing))
References
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from English soft(ware).
Noun
soft m inan
- (colloquial) software, program
soft From the web:
- what software does pixar use
- what softball games are on today
- what softens stool
- what software does joanna gaines use
- what soft foods can i eat
- what software do vtubers use
- what software do graphic designers use
- what software does beeple use
faint
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fe?nt/
- Rhymes: -e?nt
- Homophone: feint
Etymology 1
From Middle English faynt, feynt (“weak; feeble”), from Old French faint, feint (“feigned; negligent; sluggish”), past participle of feindre, faindre (“to feign; sham; work negligently”), from Latin fingere (“to touch, handle, usually form, shape, frame, form in thought, imagine, conceive, contrive, devise, feign”).
Adjective
faint (comparative fainter, superlative faintest)
- (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
- Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
- 1789, Robert Burns, to Dr. Blacklock
- Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.
- 1789, Robert Burns, to Dr. Blacklock
- Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp
- Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
- Slight; minimal.
- 2005, Lesley Brown (translator), Plato, Sophist, 243b.
- do you have the faintest understanding of what they mean?
- 2005, Lesley Brown (translator), Plato, Sophist, 243b.
Derived terms
- damn with faint praise
- fainten
- faint-hearted
- faintish
- faintling
- faintly
- faintness
Translations
Noun
faint (plural faints)
- The act of fainting, syncope.
- (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.
Derived terms
- faintful
- faintless
- faintsome
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English fainten, feynten, from the adjective (see above).
Verb
faint (third-person singular simple present faints, present participle fainting, simple past and past participle fainted)
- (intransitive) To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).
- If I send them away fasting […] they will faint by the way.
- September 22 1713, Richard Steele, The Guardian No. 167
- But upon hearing the Honour which he intended her , she fainted away , and fell down as Dead at his Feet
- (intransitive) To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
- (intransitive) To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
- November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell
- Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye.
- November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell
Synonyms
- (to lose consciousness): pass out, swoon, sweb, black out, keel over
- queal
Translations
Further reading
- faint in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- faint in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- faint at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- Fanti, fitna
Cimbrian
Etymology
From Middle High German v?nt, v?ent, v?ant, from Old High German f?ant, f?and, from Proto-Germanic *fijandz (“enemy, fiend”). Cognate with German Feind, English fiend.
Noun
fàint m (plural fainte)
- (Sette Comuni) enemy, fiend
References
- “faint” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Welsh
Alternative forms
- pa faint (literary)
Etymology
Shortened from pa faint (“what amount”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vai?nt/
Pronoun
faint
- how much, how many
Usage notes
Faint means either how many, followed by o and the plural form of a noun with soft mutation, or how much, preceding o and the singular form of a noun, again with soft mutation. Sawl corresponds only to English how many and is followed by the singular form of a noun.
faint From the web:
- what faint means
- what fainting feels like
- what fainting looks like
- what fainting
- what faint line means
- what fainting is like
- what fainting is a symptom of
- what does faint mean
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