different between soft vs flimsy
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
flimsy
English
Etymology
Origin uncertain. First used in the 18th century. Perhaps a metathesis of film +? -s +? -y; or related to flimflam.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?fl?mzi/
Adjective
flimsy (comparative flimsier or more flimsy, superlative flimsiest or most flimsy)
- Likely to bend or break under pressure.
- Synonyms: weak, shaky, flexible, fragile
- Antonyms: robust, strong, sturdy
- 1715, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals
- All the flimsy furniture of a country miss's brain.
- (figuratively) Weak; ill-founded.
- Synonyms: weak, feeble, unconvincing
- Antonyms: well-founded, substantiated
Translations
Noun
flimsy (plural flimsies)
- Thin typing paper used to make multiple copies.
- 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 251:
- Smiley peered once more at the flimsy which he still clutched in his pudgy hand.
- 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 251:
- (naval slang) A service certificate
- 1964, Australia. Parliament, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament
- A perusal of the comments of officers under whom he has served as recorded in his “flimsies" indicates that he has almost consistently received high commendation for his service.
- 1994, John Wells, The Royal Navy: An Illustrated Social History, 1870-1982 (page 7)
- Regulations required a commanding officer to render annual confidential reports on the character and ability of his officers - with particular reference to sobriety - on forms known as 'flimsies'.
- 1964, Australia. Parliament, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament
- (informal, in the plural) Skimpy underwear.
- (slang) A banknote.
Translations
flimsy From the web:
- what flimsy means
- what flimsy excuse
- what flimsy paper
- flimsy what is the definition
- what causes flimsy nails
- what is flimsy file
- what do flimsy mean
- what is flimsy tire
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