English Reference
Idiom idiom

soften up

Meaning

To appease someone in order to make them more receptive to an idea or proposal.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples
SIMPLE

“I will buy him coffee to soften him up before asking for help.”

CONTEXTUAL

“She brought her boss a nice lunch to soften him up before requesting a raise.”

COMPLEX

“The negotiator attempted to soften up the opposition with small concessions before presenting the final, more demanding terms of the contract.”

Anchors to
Related idioms2entries
  1. 01

    soften someone's cough

    To completely negate or undermine someone's argument or position on a topic.

  2. 02

    soften the ground

    To prepare or create favorable conditions (for something), especially with the intent of improving public acceptance of the forthcoming occurrence.

Last updated August 10, 2026