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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Soften \Sof"ten\, verb (used without an object) To become soft or softened, or less rude, harsh, severe, or obdurate.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Soften \Sof"ten\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Softened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Softening}.] To make soft or more soft. Specifically: (a) To render less hard; -- said of matter.
Their arrow's point they soften in the flame. --Gay. (b) To mollify; to make less fierce or intractable.
Diffidence conciliates the proud, and softens the severe. --Rambler. (c) To palliate; to represent as less enormous; as, to soften a fault. (d) To compose; to mitigate; to assuage.
Music can soften pain to ease. --Pope. (e) To make calm and placid.
All that cheers or softens life. --Pope. (f) To make less harsh, less rude, less offensive, or less violent, or to render of an opposite quality.
He bore his great commision in his look, But tempered awe, and softened all he spoke. --Dryden. (g) To make less glaring; to tone down; as, to soften the coloring of a picture. (h) To make tender; to make effeminate; to enervate; as, troops softened by luxury. (i) To make less harsh or grating, or of a quality the opposite; as, to soften the voice.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
soften
verb
1: make (images or sounds) soft or softer [ant: {sharpen}]
2: lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall" [syn: {dampen}, {damp}, {weaken}, {break}]
3: give in, as to influence or pressure [syn: {yield}, {relent}] [ant: {stand}]
4: protect from impact; "cushion the blow" [syn: {cushion}, {buffer}]
5: make less severe or harsh; "He moderated his tone when the students burst out in tears" [syn: {mince}, {moderate}]
6: make soft or softer; "This liquid will soften your laundry" [ant: {harden}]
7: become soft or softer; "The bread will soften if you pour some liquid on it" [ant: {harden}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
186 Moby Thesaurus words for "soften": abate, absorb the shock, adjust to, affect, agree, allay, alleviate, allow for, alter, anesthetize, appease, assent, assuage, attemper, baffle, bank the fire, benumb, blunt, blur, box in, break the fall, castrate, chasten, circumscribe, color, come home to, concur, condition, consent, constrain, control, cushion, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, deaden the pain, deafen, decry, defocus, demasculinize, devaluate, devalue, dim, diminish, downplay, dull, ease, ease matters, ease up, effeminate, effeminatize, effeminize, emasculate, extenuate, film, fluff, fog, foment, geld, gentle, give in, give relief, give way, gloss over, go deep, go through one, grieve, hedge, hedge about, ignore, keep within bounds, knead, laxate, lay, leaven, lenify, lessen, let up, lighten, limber, limber up, limit, loosen, lose resolution, lower, lull, make allowance for, mark down, mash, massage, mellow, melt, melt the heart, milden, mince, mist, mitigate, moderate, modify, modulate, mollify, move, muffle, mute, narrow, neutralize, numb, obtund, offset, pad, pale, palliate, penetrate, pierce, play down, plump, poultice, pour balm into, pour oil on, pulp, qualify, quell, quiet, quieten, reach, reduce, reduce the temperature, regulate by, relax, relieve, restrain, restrict, sadden, salve, season, set conditions, set limits, shake up, show consideration, show mercy, show pity, sissify, slacken, slake, slow down, slur over, smart, smash, smother, sober, sober down, soft-pedal, soften the blow, soften up, soothe, squash, stifle, still, sting, stir, stop, stupe, subdue, succumb, supple, suppress, surrender, tame, temper, tenderize, tone down, touch, touch a chord, tune down, turn down, underplay, underrate, undervalue, varnish, weaken, whitewash, womanize, write down, write off, yield
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