Softener

Description

An additive used to increase softness, smoothness, or plasticity of another material. Softeners can be used to sequester insoluble ions, to reduce friction and to facilitate processing. Examples of softeners are vegetable oils, stearic acid, glucose, glycerol, tallow, sulfonated oils, quaternary amine compounds, sodium phosphate, and zeolites.

Authority

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998