adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Pornography that does not contain depictions of explicit sexual penetration. uncountable

Adjective

1. 1
   Less intense, committed or aggressive than hardcore. slang, usually

   "Distinct from hardcore punks, softcore punks expressed less commitment to punk values […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms

erotica

Antonyms

All antonyms

hardcore

Example

More examples

"Tom prefers softcore porn, while Mary prefers hardcore."

Etymology

From soft + core, by analogy with hardcore.

Related phrases

softcore pornographysoft core

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.