All grudges are softened by the approach of dinner.
That blow was softened by the successive appointments of Lord Falconer, Jack Straw and Ken Clarke.
It has been softened by the goodwill of different eras.
Footsteps, softened by the lazy drag of slippers, approached.
The hard edges of classical Greek writing are softened by the enveloping emotion and suggestion.
Kumquats can be made into marmalades and jams, of course, their bitter edges softened by sugar and often the addition of tangerines or mandarin oranges.
The limestone is broken down and softened by carbonic acid in the brook's water.
Water is softened on a small scale by the addition of ammonia, borax, or trisodium phosphate, together with sodium carbonate (washing soda).
Water is softened on a large scale by the addition of just enough lime to precipitate the calcium as carbonate and the magnesium as hydroxide, whereupon sodium carbonate is added to remove the remaining calcium salts.
Castellano was tossed onto the grass softened by a rainstorm.
