softening
noun
Simple meaning
Making something soft.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sawfuhningSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɔfənɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The process of becoming softer
“Refrigeration delayed the softening of the fruit.”
The process of making something soft.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The process of becoming softer
Used this way, softening is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Refrigeration delayed the softening of the fruit.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “softening of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: softening of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use softening
- “Refrigeration delayed the softening of the fruit.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.