Usage examples for soften:

• Uncle Phineas tried to soften the fact, but the little lady was certainly the most trying of his pupils. "John Halifax, Gentleman" – Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

• Oh, how bare and cruel it was, without so much as a bit of green turf to soften it! "The Queen of Hearts" – Wilkie Collins Last Updated: January 3, 2009

• He could not soften his voice to breathe tenderly enough a message of such love, nor give it strength enough to peal forth a message of such tremendous import and world- wide destination. "The Expositor's Bible: Colossians and Philemon" – Alexander Maclaren

• And then, deliberately, she made her eyes soften made her lips smile. "The Garden of Eden" – Max Brand