Meanings
verbsoften up (third-person singular simple present softens up, present participle softening up, simple past and past participle softened up)
present singular third person softens up · participle present softening up · participle past softened up · past softened up
- broadlyidiomaticTo appease someone in order to make them more receptive to an idea or proposal.
Synonyms: to butter up
- To become less committed to something.
That was what Agnes thought at two o'clock in the afternoon, but by evening she had softened up some.
1994, J.A. Jance, Death of a Snowbird
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo appease someone in order to make them more receptive to an idea or proposal.
Similar
to butter up
Also see
Cite this entry
APA
soften up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soften%20up
MLA
“soften up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soften%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “soften up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soften%20up.
Source: soften up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.