Soft vs. Solid — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Soft and Solid
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Compare with Definitions
Soft
Easy to mould, cut, compress, or fold; not hard or firm to the touch
The ground was soft beneath their feet
Soft margarine
Solid
Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas and plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount of kinetic energy.
Soft
Having a pleasing quality involving a subtle effect or contrast rather than sharp definition
The moon's pale light cast soft shadows
The soft glow of the lamps
Solid
Of definite shape and volume; not liquid or gaseous
It was so cold the water in the bucket became solid.
Soft
Sympathetic, lenient, or compassionate, especially to a degree perceived as excessive; not strict or sufficiently strict
Julia's soft heart was touched by his grief
The government is not becoming soft on crime
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Solid
(Mathematics) Of or relating to three-dimensional geometric figures or bodies.
Soft
(of a drink) not alcoholic.
Solid
Firm or compact in substance
The floor was solid and would not give way.
Soft
(of a market, currency, or commodity) falling or likely to fall in value
Now a new factor looms: soft oil prices
The rouble, so soft that it buys nothing worth having
Solid
Not hollowed out
A solid block of wood.
Soft
(of water) containing relatively low concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts and therefore lathering easily with soap
You use only half as much soap when you clean with soft water
Solid
Being the same substance or color throughout
Solid gold.
Soft
Foolish; silly
He must be going soft in the head
Solid
Having no gaps or breaks; continuous
A solid line of people.
Worked for a solid week.
Soft
(of a consonant) pronounced as a fricative (as c in ice).
Solid
Acting together; unanimous
A solid voting bloc.
Soft
In a quiet or gentle way
I can just speak soft and she'll hear me
Solid
Written without a hyphen or space. For example, the word software is a solid compound.
Soft
In a weak or foolish way
Don't talk soft
Solid
(Printing) Having no leads between the lines.
Soft
Yielding readily to pressure or weight
A soft melon.
A soft pillow.
Solid
Of good quality
Off to a solid start.
Soft
Easily molded, cut, or worked
Soft wood.
Solid
Substantial; hearty
A solid meal.
Soft
(Sports) Not tense and therefore capable of absorbing the impact of a ball or puck and of catching, receiving, or controlling it
A receiver with soft hands.
Solid
Sound; reliable
Solid facts.
Soft
Out of condition; flabby
Got soft sitting at a desk all day.
Solid
Financially sound
A solid business.
Soft
Smooth or fine to the touch
A soft fabric.
Soft fur.
Solid
Upstanding or dependable
A solid citizen.
Soft
Not loud, harsh, or irritating
A soft voice.
Solid
(Slang) Excellent; first-rate.
Soft
Not brilliant or glaring; subdued
Soft colors.
Solid
A substance having a definite shape and volume; one that is neither liquid nor gaseous.
Soft
Not sharply drawn or delineated
Soft charcoal shading.
A scene filmed in soft focus.
Solid
(Mathematics) A geometric figure having three dimensions.
Soft
Mild; balmy
A soft breeze.
Solid
Without a break or opening; completely or continuously
The theater was booked solid for a month.
Soft
Tender or affectionate
A soft glance.
Solid
As a whole; unanimously
The committee voted solid for the challenger.
Soft
Attracted or emotionally involved
He has been soft on her for years.
Solid
(of an object or substance) That can be picked up or held, having a texture, and usually firm. Unlike a liquid, gas or plasma.
Almost all metals are solid at room temperature.
Soft
Not stern; lenient
A coach who was soft on his players.
Solid
Large in size, quantity, or value.
Soft
Lacking strength of character; weak
Too soft for the pressure of being a spy.
Solid
Lacking holes, hollows or admixtures of other materials.
Solid gold
Solid chocolate
Soft
(Informal) Simple-minded or foolish
He's soft in the head.
Solid
Strong or unyielding.
A solid foundation
Soft
Not demanding or difficult; easy
A soft job.
Solid
(slang) Excellent, of high quality, or reliable.
That's a solid plan.
Radiohead's on tour! Have you heard their latest album yet? It's quite solid.
I don't think Dave would have done that. He's a solid dude.
Soft
Based on conciliation or compromise
Took a soft line toward their opponents.
Solid
Hearty; filling.
A solid meal
Soft
Gradually declining in trend; not firm
A soft economy.
A soft computer market.
Solid
Worthy of credit, trust, or esteem; substantial; not frivolous or fallacious.
Soft
(Sports) Scored on a shot that the goalie should have blocked
A soft goal.
Solid
Financially well off; wealthy.
Soft
Informal and entertaining without confronting difficult issues or hard facts
Limited the discussion to soft topics.
Solid
Sound; not weak.
A solid constitution of body
Soft
Using or based on data that is not readily quantifiable or amenable to experimental verification or refutation
The lawyer downplayed the soft evidence.
Solid
(typography) Written as one word, without spaces or hyphens.
American English writes many words as solid that British English hyphenates.
Soft
Softcore.
Solid
Not having the lines separated by leads; not open.
Soft
Being a turn in a specific direction at an angle less acute than other possible routes
A soft right.
Solid
United; without division; unanimous.
The delegation is solid for a candidate.
Soft
Of or relating to a paper currency as distinct from a hard currency backed by gold.
Solid
Of a single color throughout.
John painted the walls solid white.
He wore a solid shirt with floral pants.
Soft
Having low dissolved mineral content
Soft water.
Solid
(of drawn lines) Continuous; unbroken; not dotted or dashed.
The solid lines show roads, and the dotted lines footpaths.
Soft
Nonalcoholic.
Solid
(dated) Having all the geometrical dimensions; cubic.
A solid foot contains 1,728 solid inches.
Soft
Nonaddictive or mildly addictive. Used of certain drugs.
Solid
(of volumes of materials) Measured as a single solid, as the volumes of individual pieces added together without any gaps.
Soft
Having a low or lower power of penetration
Soft x-rays.
Solid
(chemistry) A substance in the fundamental state of matter that retains its size and shape without need of a container (as opposed to a liquid or gas).
Soft
Sibilant rather than guttural, as c in certain and g in gem.
Solid
(geometry) A three-dimensional figure (as opposed to a surface, an area, or a curve).
Soft
Voiced and weakly articulated
A soft consonant.
Solid
(informal) A favor.
Please do me a solid: lend me your car for one week.
I owe him; he did me a solid last year.
Soft
Palatalized, as certain consonants in Slavic languages.
Solid
An article of clothing which is of a single color throughout.
I prefer solids over paisleys.
Soft
Unprotected against or vulnerable to attack
A soft target.
Solid
(in the plural) Food which is not liquid-based.
The doctor said I can't eat any solids four hours before the operation.
Soft
In a soft manner; gently.
Solid
Solidly.
Soft
Easily yielding to pressure; easily impressed, molded, or cut; not firm in resisting; impressible; yielding; also, malleable; - opposed to hard; as, a soft bed; a soft peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal.
Solid
Without spaces or hyphens.
Many long-established compounds are set solid.
Soft
Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth; delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin.
They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses.
Solid
Having the constituent parts so compact, or so firmly adhering, as to resist the impression or penetration of other bodies; having a fixed form; hard; firm; compact; - opposed to fluid and liquid or to plastic, like clay, or to incompact, like sand.
Soft
Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines.
Solid
Not hollow; full of matter; as, a solid globe or cone, as distinguished from a hollow one; not spongy; dense; hence, sometimes, heavy.
Soft
Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring; pleasing to the eye; not exciting by intensity of color or violent contrast; as, soft hues or tints.
The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds . . . made the softest lights imaginable.
Solid
Having all the geometrical dimensions; cubic; as, a solid foot contains 1,728 solid inches.
Soft
Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music.
Her voice was ever soft,Gentle, and low, - an excellent thing in woman.
Soft were my numbers; who could take offense?
Solid
Firm; compact; strong; stable; unyielding; as, a solid pier; a solid pile; a solid wall.
Soft
Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible; gentle; kind.
I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's;Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine.
The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.
Solid
Applied to a compound word whose parts are closely united and form an unbroken word; - opposed to hyphened.
Soft
Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes.
A soft answer turneth away wrath.
A face with gladness overspread,Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.
Solid
Fig.: Worthy of credit, trust, or esteem; substantial, as opposed to frivolous or fallacious; weighty; firm; strong; valid; just; genuine.
The solid purpose of a sincere and virtuous answer.
These, wanting wit, affect gravity, and go by the name of solid men.
The genius of the Italians wrought by solid toil what the myth-making imagination of the Germans had projected in a poem.
Soft
Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak.
A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering.
Solid
Sound; not weakly; as, a solid constitution of body.
Soft
Gentle in action or motion; easy.
On her soft axle, white she paces even,And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
Solid
Of a fleshy, uniform, undivided substance, as a bulb or root; not spongy or hollow within, as a stem.
Soft
Weak in character; impressible.
The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
Solid
Impenetrable; resisting or excluding any other material particle or atom from any given portion of space; - applied to the supposed ultimate particles of matter.
Soft
Somewhat weak in intellect.
He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
Solid
Not having the lines separated by leads; not open.
Soft
Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers.
Solid
United; without division; unanimous; as, the delegation is solid for a candidate.
Repose you there; while I [return] to this hard house,More harder than the stones whereof 't is raised.
I hear his thundering voice resound,And trampling feet than shake the solid ground.
Soft
Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.
Solid
A substance that is held in a fixed form by cohesion among its particles; a substance not fluid.
Soft
Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap; as, soft water is the best for washing.
Solid
A magnitude which has length, breadth, and thickness; a part of space bounded on all sides.
Soft
Applied to a palatal, a sibilant, or a dental consonant (as g in gem, c in cent, etc.) as distinguished from a guttural mute (as g in go, c in cone, etc.); - opposed to hard.
Solid
A substance that is solid at room temperature and pressure
Soft
A soft or foolish person; an idiot.
Solid
The state in which a substance has no tendency to flow under moderate stress; resists forces (such as compression) that tend to deform it; and retains a definite size and shape
Soft
Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.
A knight soft riding toward them.
Solid
A three-dimensional shape
Soft
Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
Soft, you; a word or two before you go.
Solid
Of definite shape and volume; firm; neither liquid nor gaseous;
Ice is water in the solid state
Water and milk and blood are liquid substances
Soft
Lacking in hardness relatively or comparatively
Solid
Of good substantial quality;
Solid comfort
A solid base hit
Soft
Metaphorically soft;
My father is a soft touch
Soft light
A soft rain
A soft Southern drawl
Soft brown eyes
A soft glance
Solid
Entirely of one substance with no holes inside;
Solid silver
A solid block of wood
Soft
Of sound; relatively low in volume;
Soft voices
Soft music
Solid
Of one substance or character throughout;
Solid gold
A solid color
Carved out of solid rock
Soft
Easily hurt;
Soft hands
A baby's delicate skin
Solid
Uninterrupted in space; having no gaps or breaks;
A solid line across the page
Solid sheets of water
Soft
Used chiefly as a direction or description in music;
The piano passages in the composition
Solid
Providing abundant nourishment;
A hearty meal
Good solid food
Ate a substantial breakfast
Soft
Used of beverages; not containing alcohol;
Nonalcoholic beverages
Soft drinks
Solid
Of good quality and condition; solidly built;
A solid foundation
Several substantial timber buildings
Soft
Of speech sounds; characterized by a hissing or hushing sound (as `s' and `sh')
Solid
Having high moral qualities;
A noble spirit
A solid citizen
An upstanding man
A worthy successor
Soft
Tolerant or lenient;
Indulgent parents risk spoiling their children
Procedures are lax and discipline is weak
Too soft on the children
Solid
Not soft or yielding to pressure;
A firm mattress
The snow was firm underfoot
Solid ground
Soft
Having little impact;
An easy pat on the shoulder
Gentle rain
A gentle breeze
A soft (or light) tapping at the window
Solid
Having three dimensions;
A solid object
Soft
Not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship;
What a cushy job!
A soft job
Solid
Incapable of being seen through;
Solid blackness
Soft
In a relaxed manner; or without hardship;
Just wanted to take it easy
Solid
Entirely of a single color throughout;
A solid fabric
Solid
Acting together as a single undiversified whole;
A solid voting bloc
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