Crossword Dictionary
soften
soften - v
make (images or sounds) soft or softer
make soft or softer; "This liquid will soften your laundry"
become soft or softer; "The bread will soften if you pour some liquid on it"
To soften is to make something soft, or to become soft. A stick of butter will soften after sitting on the counter for an hour—or you can soften it by squishing it with a wooden spoon.
You can literally soften things, the way a sculptor softens clay or you soften the skin on your hands with lotion. Turning down the sound is another way to soften something: "I'll soften the radio so it doesn't keep you awake." When you make something gentler or less severe, you also soften it, like when a lawmaker tries to soften the effect of a law by proposing a tax cut in return.
etymology
late 14c., "to mitigate, diminish" (transitive), from soft (adj.) + -en (1). Meaning "to make physically soft" is from 1520s; intransitive sense of "to become softer" is attested from 1610s. Soften up in military sense of "weaken defenses" is from 1940. Related: Softened; softening.