softness

Everyday

1. Softness is being soft to touch: easy to press, smooth and gentle, like a pillow or a kitten's fur. tree →
2. Softness is being quiet or gentle in sound or light: the softness of her voice, the softness of candlelight. tree →
3. Softness is also gentleness and kindness in a person; sometimes it means being too weak or not strict enough. tree →

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 →
• We tested the softness of different materials by pressing them. tree →
• The softness of her voice calmed the baby. tree →
• Talc is famous for its softness; you can scratch it with a fingernail. tree →
• The softness of the morning light woke me gently. tree →
• The coach said his softness with the team made them lazy. tree →
• The kitten's fur has an amazing softness. tree →
• In spite of the softness of the bed, he was very glad when morning came at last. tree →

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 →

Note

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