Dictionary

softmaxx en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From soft + -maxx.

Meanings

1. (intransitive, qualifier:incel slang, transitive) To act to improve one's physical appearance using a body care routine or other simple method; to engage in light looksmaxxing.
   • It begins with “softmaxxing”. This includes basic hygiene such as teeth brushing and whitening, removal of face and body hair, and “mewing” (tongue exercises that supposedly help tone facial muscles). 2024 January 31, “‘Looksmaxxing’ is the disturbing TikTok trend turning young men into incels”, in The Conversation, archived from the original on 17 Apr 2024:
   • A September video from the TikTok user syrianpsycho, who promotes softmaxxing to his 1.2 million followers, bemoans the experience of going to restaurant while “mewing” (a technique that involves placing the tongue on the roof of the mouth, which Looksmaxxers believe makes the jaw grow squarer and stronger) and “starvemaxxing” (the Looksmaxxers’ term for extreme fasting). 2023 November 6, Joseph Bernstein, “Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2024:

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