The phrase "a soft material" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a substance that has a gentle or yielding texture, often in contexts related to manufacturing, textiles, or materials science.
Example: "The artist preferred to work with a soft material, as it allowed for greater flexibility in shaping her sculptures."
Alternatives: "a pliable substance" or "a gentle fabric".
"I wanted to create the effect of stone by carving a soft material," she said.
It has a comfortable heft and and the Kevlar back is coated with a soft material.
"Aluminum is a soft material that doesn't hold a sharp edge, the way bronze does," he explained.
In addition to a padded sleeve for a laptop, most bags have assorted pockets for BlackBerrys, cellphones, iPods, digital cameras and chargers, often lined with a soft material to prevent scratches.
Take the knee for instance, its function relies on cartilage, a soft material in which elasticity is vital to its role of transmitting forces that are produced when we walk, jump and generally lark about.
Although these million-atom structures are made of a soft material, researchers have also learned to design and build nanoscale objects of sturdier stuff, a dense polymeric material that can be as stiff and strong as the plastics used to make a computer case.
The potential of the nano-regime for electrical and chemical properties of electroceramics is discussed in the framework of a "soft materials science".
Sandpaper should not be able to scratch sapphire screens, as silica is a softer material than sapphire.
The screw is a hard steel, but the nut is a softer material, an alloy of aluminum, nickel and bronze, said Mark Silk, president of Trig Holding Inc., the manufacturer.
Seal, in documentation, an impression made by the impact of a hard engraved surface on a softer material such as wax or clay, producing a device in relief.
The second method was the soft-hammer, or baton, technique, based on a discovery of perhaps 500,000 years ago that hard rock (flint in particular) could be chipped by striking it with a softer material.
