Standard Lemma guide

soft-spoken

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsɒftˌspəʊkən/
  • General-American: /ˈsɔftˌspoʊkən/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He was a soft-spoken fellow who loved children and dogs.
  • My uncle was a lovely man, and soft-spoken with his delightful Manx accent.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

having a speaking manner that is not loud or harsh

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • she was always soft-spoken

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: ruhig sprechend — having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly
  • German: leise sprechend — having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly
  • Hungarian: halk szavú — having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly
  • Latin: suppressus — having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly
  • Manx: kiune-vreearagh — having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly
  • Urdu: نرم گفتار (narm guftār) — having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly