soften

ramollir, assouplir

Rendre quelque chose moins dur, ou devenir moins dur.

En anglais simple : To make something less hard, or to become less hard.

• Warm water will soften the clay.
• The butter softened on the kitchen counter.
• Cook the onions until they soften.

Contraires : harden

Expressions courantes : soften butter, soften the leather, soften the skin

adoucir, atténuer

Rendre des paroles, des sons, des sentiments ou des actions moins forts, sévères ou désagréables.

En anglais simple : To make words, sounds, feelings, or actions less strong, severe, or unpleasant.

• She softened her voice.
• He tried to soften the criticism with a smile.
• The extra payment softened the blow of losing her job.

Synonymes : ease, moderate, tone down

Contraires : intensify

Expressions courantes : soften the blow, soften your tone, soften the criticism

affaiblir, démoraliser

Réduire la confiance ou la résistance de quelqu’un pour pouvoir le vaincre ou le convaincre plus facilement.

En anglais simple : To weaken someone's confidence or resistance so they are easier to defeat or persuade.

• The attacks softened the enemy's resistance.
• They used constant pressure to soften the prisoners up.
• Weeks of bombing had softened up the defending troops.

Comment l'utiliser : soften someone up (The bombardment was intended to soften the enemy up.)

Synonymes : weaken, wear down

Contraires : strengthen

Expressions courantes : soften someone up, soften the enemy