soften

ammorbidire, ammorbidirsi

Rendere qualcosa meno duro o diventare meno duro.

In inglese semplice: 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.

Contrari: harden

Espressioni comuni: soften butter, soften the leather, soften the skin

addolcire, attenuare

Rendere parole, suoni, sentimenti o azioni meno intensi, duri o sgradevoli.

In inglese semplice: 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.

Sinonimi: ease, moderate, tone down

Contrari: intensify

Espressioni comuni: soften the blow, soften your tone, soften the criticism

indebolire, fiaccare

Ridurre la fiducia o la resistenza di qualcuno per renderlo più facile da sconfiggere o convincere.

In inglese semplice: 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.

Come si usa: soften someone up (The bombardment was intended to soften the enemy up.)

Sinonimi: weaken, wear down

Contrari: strengthen

Espressioni comuni: soften someone up, soften the enemy