Emily Dickinson Lexicon

soft (-er), adj. [OE.]

1. Filmy; airy; gauzy; gossamer; [fig.] veiled.
2. Murmuring; whispered; rustling; not loud; low in volume; [fig.] prayerful; chanting.
3. Weak; frail; ineffectual; feeble; prissy; squeamish; squishy; hyper-sensitive; puffed up.
4. Muted; hushed; muffled; [fig.] wet; moist; damp; liquid; congealed; satiny; slick; glossy; glistening.
5. Understated; subdued; dim; hazy; blurred.
6. Breezy; wafting; [fig.] moist; humid.
7. Milder; less harsh; more bearable; easier to endure.
8. Delicate; dainty; exquisite.
9. Luxurious; lush; cozy; fit; safe; suitable; comfortable; [fig.] pleasant; agreeable; not egregious.

soft (-er), adv. [see soft, adj.]

1. Placidly; easily; gradually.
2. Shyly; timorously; stealthily; noiselessly; not loudly; gentle-sounding.
3. More reverently; with hesitance.
4. Reverently; sweetly; gracefully; with devotion.
5. Effortlessly; with less force; with diminishing energy.
6. Quietly; noiselessly.
7. Discreetly; circumspectly; confidentially; secretly; surreptitiously; [fig.] while eavesdropping.
8. More slowly; [fig.] tamely; less wildly.
9. Gently; tenderly; naturally.
10. With stillness; without being noticed; [fig.] surreally; supernaturally; like a vision.

soften (-ed), v. [see soft, adj.]

Buffer; cushion; make less painful; [fig.] heal; convert; transform.

softly, adv. [see soft, adj.]

1. Quietly; not loudly; in a whisper; under the breath; with a low volume.
2. Lightly; dreamily; surreally; supernaturally; [fig.] invisibly; imperceptibly.
3. Gently; carefully.
4. Effortlessly; fleetingly; nimbly; swiftly; trippingly.
5. Tenderly; with sensitivity.
6. Unobtrusively; without fanfare; without noise.
7. Placidly; calmly; sedately.
8. Faintly; [fig.] sibilantly; with a hissing sound.
9. Noiselessly; silently.
10. Genteelly; with dignity; [fig.] royally; nobly.
11. Deftly; neatly; dexterously; gracefully.
12. Deliberately; patiently; not feverishly.
13. Soundlessly and steadily.
14. Not brightly; in the background.

softness, n. [see soft, adj.]

1. Mistiness; cloudiness from tears.
2. Quietness; lightness; opposite of hardness.

soil, n. [L. solum, ground.] (webplay: Earth, upper).

1. Land; native country.
2. Field; pasture; firm land; upper stratum of the Earth; [fig.] horizon.
3. Dirt; humus.
4. Earth; [fig.] garden; meadow.
5. Ground; plantation; substance in which things can grow.

solace (-d, -s), v. [OFr.]

1. Comfort; console; cheer.
2. Subdue; allay; assuage; quench; relieve; satisfy; fulfill.

solder (-ed), v. [OFr soud-, solid.] (webplay: cooling, thing).

1. Join; unite; [fig.] reconcile; fix; mend; repair; seal up.
2. Phrase. “soldered down”: shut permanently; closed irrevocably in death.

soldered, verbal adj. [see solder, v.]

1. Closed; sealed shut; [fig.] mute.
2. Buried; concealed; hidden; enshrouded.

soldier (-s, -'s), n. [OFr.]

1. Draftee; conscript; recruit; enlisted person; Civil War veteran; one who has battle experience; [fig.] valiant individual; one who has overcome death.
2. Member of the army; person whose occupation is military.
3. Antagonist; adversary; attacker; aggressor; opponent.