soft-soaped; soft-soaping; soft-soaps
: to soothe or persuade with flattery or blarney
Synonyms
Examples of soft-soap in a Sentence
Verb
she cunningly soft-soaped her parents into letting her go on the trip
shrewd voters who know when a politician is trying to soft-soap them
Noun
a salesman who knows the value of soft soap in making a sale
Recent Examples on the Web
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
Founder and creative director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning bandages to soft soap, as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021
For spills or stains, spot cleaning with soft soap like Zero or Woolite.
—Rachel Klein, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2021
Founder and Creative Director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning Band-Aids to soft soap as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2021
Later, barber is seen crouching on his bed, holding lighted match under jam jar of water, soft soap and boot blacking.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020
Potassium hydroxide, on the other hand, produces an easily soluble soft soap.
—C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018
Verb
So do her successes in soft-soaping some recalcitrant senators into supporting the mission’s funding.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Noun
People should wash any skin that comes into contact with the slurry with water and soft soap, before using a hand cream to avoid dryness and cracking.
—Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
Founder and creative director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning bandages to soft soap, as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021
For spills or stains, spot cleaning with soft soap like Zero or Woolite.
—Rachel Klein, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2021
Founder and Creative Director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning Band-Aids to soft soap as well as regular editorial content online.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2021
Later, barber is seen crouching on his bed, holding lighted match under jam jar of water, soft soap and boot blacking.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020
Potassium hydroxide, on the other hand, produces an easily soluble soft soap.
—C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'soft-soap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near soft-soap
Cite this Entry
“Soft-soap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soft-soap. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share