Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell soften

Soften is spelled S-O-F-T-E-N.

hear itsof·ten/'sɔfən/verbSilent and tricky

What it means: To make something less hard or firm.

In a sentence: The warm sun will soften the snow.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear.

Same family: soft, softness, softer, softly, softening. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Soften” comes from Middle English, formed from “soft” plus the verb-ending “-en,” which means “to make or become.” English has several similar verbs like “shorten” (make short) and “widen” (make wide).

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