soften

soften
soften , US [transcription]{{["sO ;fn"]}}
A vtr
1 lit (make less firm or rough) amollir [ground, metal] ; adoucir [skin, hard water] ; ramollir [butter] ; assouplir [fabric] ;
2 fig atténuer [blow, impact, image, impression, shock, pain, resistance] ; adoucir [personality, refusal] ; assouplir [approach, attitude, position, rule, view] ; minimiser [fact] ;
3 (make quieter) adoucir [sound, voice] ; baisser [music] ;
4 (make less sharp) adoucir [contour, form, outline, light].
B vi
1 lit [light, outline, music, colour] s'adoucir ; [skin] devenir plus doux ; [substance, ground] se ramollir ; [consonant] devenir doux ;
2 fig [person, character, approach, attitude, position, view] s'assouplir (towards sb vis-à-vis de qn) ;
3 Econ [currency, economy, market] fléchir.
Phrasal verb
■ soften up :
▶ soften up [butter, malleable substance] amollir ;
▶ soften up [sb], soften [sb] up fig affaiblir [enemy, opponent] ; attendrir [customer].

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.

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