"soften the ground" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "softens the ground",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "softening the ground",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "softened the ground",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "softened the ground",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "soften the ground (third-person singular simple present softens the ground, present participle softening the ground, simple past and past participle softened the ground)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1998 August 18, Tony Karon, “Who Knew?”, in Time, retrieved 2016-02-02",
          "text": "A steady rhythm of leaks and informed speculation prepared America for the President's Lewinsky confessional. . . . \"The leaks definitely softened the ground for Clinton,\" says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 July 31, Katharine Murphy, “Australia: Tobacco tax expected to raise more than $5bn”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 2016-02-02",
          "text": "Bowen and the prime minister began to soften the ground for the tobacco tax hike on Wednesday in separate events in Sydney and Brisbane.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015 November 20, Alan Feuer, “Michael Skolnik Taps His Social Network to Fight for Civil Rights”, in New York Times, retrieved 2016-02-02",
          "text": "Mr. Skolnik . . . has become the man you go to if you are on the left and want to leverage the power of celebrity and the reach of digital media to soften the ground for social change.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To prepare or create favorable conditions (for something), especially with the intent of improving public acceptance of the forthcoming occurrence."
      ],
      "id": "en-soften_the_ground-en-verb-FACvS5nC",
      "links": [
        [
          "for",
          "for#English"
        ],
        [
          "prepare",
          "prepare"
        ],
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ],
        [
          "condition",
          "condition"
        ],
        [
          "acceptance",
          "acceptance"
        ],
        [
          "forthcoming",
          "forthcoming"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, often followed by for) To prepare or create favorable conditions (for something), especially with the intent of improving public acceptance of the forthcoming occurrence."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by for"
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "pave the way"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "soften up the ground"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-soften the ground.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7e/En-au-soften_the_ground.ogg/En-au-soften_the_ground.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/En-au-soften_the_ground.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "soften the ground"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "softens the ground",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "softening the ground",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "softened the ground",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "softened the ground",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "soften the ground (third-person singular simple present softens the ground, present participle softening the ground, simple past and past participle softened the ground)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "pave the way"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1998 August 18, Tony Karon, “Who Knew?”, in Time, retrieved 2016-02-02",
          "text": "A steady rhythm of leaks and informed speculation prepared America for the President's Lewinsky confessional. . . . \"The leaks definitely softened the ground for Clinton,\" says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 July 31, Katharine Murphy, “Australia: Tobacco tax expected to raise more than $5bn”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 2016-02-02",
          "text": "Bowen and the prime minister began to soften the ground for the tobacco tax hike on Wednesday in separate events in Sydney and Brisbane.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015 November 20, Alan Feuer, “Michael Skolnik Taps His Social Network to Fight for Civil Rights”, in New York Times, retrieved 2016-02-02",
          "text": "Mr. Skolnik . . . has become the man you go to if you are on the left and want to leverage the power of celebrity and the reach of digital media to soften the ground for social change.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To prepare or create favorable conditions (for something), especially with the intent of improving public acceptance of the forthcoming occurrence."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "for",
          "for#English"
        ],
        [
          "prepare",
          "prepare"
        ],
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ],
        [
          "condition",
          "condition"
        ],
        [
          "acceptance",
          "acceptance"
        ],
        [
          "forthcoming",
          "forthcoming"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, often followed by for) To prepare or create favorable conditions (for something), especially with the intent of improving public acceptance of the forthcoming occurrence."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by for"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-soften the ground.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7e/En-au-soften_the_ground.ogg/En-au-soften_the_ground.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/En-au-soften_the_ground.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "soften up the ground"
    }
  ],
  "word": "soften the ground"
}