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• r  with low volume
  speak softly but carry a big stick
  the radio was playing softly
• r  in a manner that is pleasing to the senses
  she smiled softly
• r  with little weight or force
• r  used as a direction in music; to be played relatively softly

• Traditional, left-leaning Labor voters are generally lukewarm about Rudd and his softly-softly approach, but hope he'll fire up once in power.
• A thought-experiment: What would become of the earth if humanity were to softly and silently and suddenly vanish away? What starts as a morbid parlor game becomes a mesmerizing and .
• To replace the backbreaking wooden chairs on the convention floor, the Democratic National Committee has latched onto 2,500 softly cushioned seats from the defunct Paradise .

• quietly
• lightly
• gently
• piano

• loudly
• forte

News & Articles

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• Tennis pros adjust to playing indoors
  WINNETKA — After the rain had fallen softly for around 10 minutes on the outdoor courts at the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center, play was halted Wednesday at the Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship and play was moved indoors. Play resumed about 50 minutes later and players were forcied to adjust their games. “It’s different (indoors),” Donald Young said. “It’s a lot faster, quicker points. One short ...
  July 4, 2013 - Winnetka Talk
• Rajai Davis steals show from Tigers with heads-up theft
  Fair or not, to the fans it looked pretty darn lazy. When Brayan Pena softly tossed the ball back to Jose Alvarez in the third inning Monday, Blue Jays speedster Rajai Davis bolted for third — and got there, no sweat.
  July 2, 2013 - Detroit News
• Future soldier: Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku on building a Death Star and Silicon Valley brain drain
  Morning light shines softly through a large glass window as a travel-weary Michio Kaku gamely musters a smile. Just a few hours removed from a cross-country flight from the East Coast, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this physicist is plain tired. Then the camera starts rolling. In an instant, Kaku looks rejuvenated as he plays to his audience and waxes poetic about his favorite ...
  July 1, 2013 - Engadget

Quotes

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• John McCain in BBC News
  Quoting former US President Theodore Roosevelt, Mr McCain said the commander-in-chief should "talk softly, but carry a big stick".
• Barack Obama in Boston Globe (registration)
  That was Senator McCain's judgment, and it was the wrong judgment,Obama said. "This is the guy who sang, 'bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don't think is an example of speaking softly. This is...
• Tori Spelling in Babble (blog)
  When I first saw him he just softly said 'I'm so sorry,'she says. "I just held his hand and cried. That's when he said, 'I'll never do this again. You and the kids mean everything to me.'"