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# softness

noun (softness — uncountable)

«softness» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Softness is being soft to touch: easy to press, smooth and gentle, like a pillow or a kitten's fur. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#m1)
2. Softness is being quiet or gentle in sound or light: the softness of her voice, the softness of candlelight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#m2)
3. Softness is also gentleness and kindness in a person; sometimes it means being too weak or not strict enough. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science lessons softness is a property of materials, compared with hardness (a material is soft if it is easily scratched or squashed). In stories it describes feelings, fabrics, voices and light. Phrases: "the softness of", "softness of heart".

### Examples

- I love the softness of my new blanket. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x1)
- We tested the softness of different materials by pressing them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x2)
- The softness of her voice calmed the baby. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x3)
- Talc is famous for its softness; you can scratch it with a fingernail. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x4)
- The softness of the morning light woke me gently. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x5)
- The coach said his softness with the team made them lazy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x6)
- The kitten's fur has an amazing softness. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x7)
- In spite of the softness of the bed, he was very glad when morning came at last. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/#x8)

### Note

Uncountable: no plural. Formed from soft + -ness. Opposite: hardness, roughness. In science, "soft" means easily scratched or shaped, not just nice to touch.

## In Jewish tradition

In Kalisch's translation, the double letters serve as a model of softness and hardness, because they have two ways of being pronounced.

**Interpretation.** Softness and hardness are taken as one of the pairs of opposites in creation that the letters stand for.

### Examples

- The \[33\] seven double letters, בגד כפרת with a duplicity of pronunciation, aspirated and unaspirated, namely: ,תּת ,רּר ,פּפ ,כּכ ,דּד ,גּג ,בּב serve as a model of softness and hardness, strength and weakness. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/S/softness/#x1)

### Note

Uncountable: no plural. Formed from soft + -ness. Opposite: hardness, roughness. In science, "soft" means easily scratched or shaped, not just nice to touch.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «softness» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/softness/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«softness» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/softness.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «softness» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/S/softness/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«softness» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/softness.html) on Mova free.