soften the blow

present singular third person softens the blow · participle present softening the blow · participle past softened the blow · past softened the blow

1. figurativelyTo reduce the negative impact of something.

   In prison there are no loved ones to soften the blow of such terrible news. I hated being the one to tell him, but it was infinitely better than if he got the news from someone he rarely heard from.

   2015, Cindy Sanford, Letters to a Lifer: The Boy ‘Never to be Released’, Waterside Press, →ISBN, page 181

   3 more examples

   Traditionally, people gave a compliment first so it would soften the blow of what was to come after. It does not soften the blow, it fully erases the fact that they ever been complimented because their mind is focused on the last thing they heard, […]

   2014, Noah-Jay Michael, Mastering Conversational Hypnosis: Learn the Principles of Hypnotic Language Patterns, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 52

   European governments moved this weekend to soften the blow of soaring costs and a deepening energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, and scrambled to prepare for the possibility of social unrest as the days grow colder.

   2022 September 4, Erika Solomon, “Wary of Cold Days and Hot Tempers, Europe’s Leaders Vow Economic Relief”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   “It’s quite common for people to tell a little white lie when they’re declining invitations,” says Elaine Swann, etiquette expert and author of Elaine Swann’s Book of Modern Etiquette. Swann says people do this to avoid offense and “soften the blow”.

   2025 September 4, Madeleine Aggeler, “I stopped telling ‘little white lies’ for two weeks. This is what I learned”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: cushion the blow