different between thaw vs soften
thaw
English
Alternative forms
- thow
Etymology
From Middle English thowen, thawen, from Old English þ?wian, from Proto-West Germanic *þauwjan, from Proto-Germanic *þawjan?, from Proto-Indo-European *teh?- (“to melt”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /???/
- Rhymes: -??
Verb
thaw (third-person singular simple present thaws, present participle thawing, simple past and past participle thawed)
- (intransitive) To gradually melt, dissolve, or become fluid; to soften from frozen
- (intransitive) To become so warm as to melt ice and snow — said in reference to the weather, and used impersonally.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To grow gentle or genial.
- (transitive) To gradually cause frozen things (such as earth, snow, ice) to melt, soften, or dissolve.
- 1700, John Dryden, "Palamon and Arcite", in Fables, Ancient and Modern:
- The frame of burnish'd steel, that cast a glare / From far, and seemed to thaw the freezing air.
- 1700, John Dryden, "Palamon and Arcite", in Fables, Ancient and Modern:
Translations
Noun
thaw (plural thaws)
- The melting of ice, snow, or other congealed matter; the resolution of ice, or the like, into the state of a fluid; liquefaction by heat of anything congealed by frost
- a warmth of weather sufficient to melt that which is frozen
- raging floods pursue their hasty thaw ;
Our thaw was mild , the cold not chased away
- raging floods pursue their hasty thaw ;
Translations
See also
- unthaw, dethaw
- snowmelt
Anagrams
- HAWT, Wath, hawt, wath, what
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?au?/
Verb
thaw
- Aspirate mutation of taw.
Mutation
thaw From the web:
- what thaw means
- what thaws ice
- what thawed the snowball earth
- what thaws meat faster
- what thawed the last ice age
- what does a thaw mean
soften
English
Etymology
From Middle English softenen, softnen, equivalent to soft +? -en.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?s?f?n/, enPR: s?f?en
- (US) IPA(key): /?s?f?n/, enPR: sôf?en
- (US, cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA(key): /?s?f?n/, enPR: s?f?en
Verb
soften (third-person singular simple present softens, present participle softening, simple past and past participle softened)
- (transitive) To make something soft or softer.
- Soften the butter before beating in the sugar.
- (transitive) To undermine the morale of someone (often soften up).
- Before the invasion, we softened up the enemy with the artillery.
- (transitive) To make less harsh
- Having second thoughts, I softened my criticism.
- (intransitive) To become soft or softer
- The butter softened as it warmed up.
Derived terms
- soften the ground
- softener
Translations
See also
- mollify
- neshen
Anagrams
- Sefton
soften From the web:
- what softens stool
- what softens toenails
- what softens ear wax
- what softens the cervix
- what softens leather
- what softens calluses
- what softens water
- what softens cuticles
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