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Synonyms

soften up

British  

verb

  1. to make or become soft

  2. (tr) to weaken (an enemy's defences) by shelling, bombing, etc

  3. (tr) to weaken the resistance of (a person) by persuasive talk, advances, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
soften up Idioms  

  1. Reduce resistance, as in His sales motto was: a fine lunch and a few drinks often will soften up a prospective customer. This expression transfers lessening of physical hardness to lessening mental resistance. It was first used, however, in World War II, where it meant “reduce the enemy's defenses by preliminary bombing.” [c. 1940]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ms. Washington gave me a minute to soften up and give in, because she didn’t know about my heart and its resolution, and that she was dealing with a mighty and unbending will.

From Literature

The scariest thing for the rest of the NFL is that these Seahawks might not soften up anytime soon.

From The Wall Street Journal

The royal treatment is a variation on what has become an oft-repeated strategy in which hosts provide lavish receptions to soften up the visiting U.S. president, with the goal of winning relief from U.S. tariffs and lessening the demands that go with them.

From The Wall Street Journal

“If we froze everything in time, I think you’d say this is a fine labor market, but the direction in which things are pointing suggests a risk that it could soften up further,” Feroli said.

From The Wall Street Journal

That could be because UnitedHealth did not actually soften up.

From Slate

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.