Meaning & use
soft porn
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Meanings
noununcountableinformal
Sexual material in films, photos or writing that suggests sexual activity but does not show it explicitly.
Grammar: No plural: the film was soft porn.
Patterns
- call something soft porn
The magazine was sold as soft porn rather than explicit content.
Critics dismissed the film as soft porn dressed up as drama.
Some channels broadcast soft porn late at night.
noununcountabledisapprovingfigurative
Content, such as ads or videos, that is accused of being overly sexual without being fully explicit.
Grammar: Used as a criticism, often with disapproval.
Patterns
- accuse something of being soft porn
Parents complained that the perfume ad was soft porn.
The campaign was criticized as soft porn for teenagers.
Calling a music video soft porn is a matter of opinion.
Common combinations
- dismiss as soft porn
- Critics dismissed the series as soft porn.
- a soft porn film
- A soft porn film aired after midnight.
- soft porn magazine
- The shop banned any soft porn magazine.
- accused of soft porn
- The advert was accused of being soft porn.
Synonyms and how they differ
- softcore
- Softcore is the standard industry term and sounds more neutral than the slangier soft porn.
- erotica
- Erotica suggests artistic or literary intent and sounds more respectable.
- hardcore
- Hardcore is the opposite, meaning fully explicit material, not a synonym.
- pornography
- Pornography is the broad formal word covering both explicit and mild material.
Opposites
Word family
- porn noun
- short for pornography
- pornography noun
- sexually explicit material
- pornographic adjective
- relating to explicit sexual material
- softcore adjective
- mildly explicit
Commonly confused: soft porn or erotica?
soft porn vs erotica
Erotica is meant to be artistic or sensual, while soft porn is a more critical, blunt label.
Practice
The film was given a late-night slot because it was considered ___, not fully explicit.
Choose one answer.
Soft porn is suggestive but not explicit. Light comedy would not require a late-night slot for that reason.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “soft porn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.