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First soothe and frequently calm (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

soften

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'calm' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to change as well as being verbs in their base form.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'first soothe and frequently' is the wordplay.
'first soothe' becomes 's' (1st letter of 'soothe').
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'frequently' becomes 'often' (synonyms).
's'+'often'='SOFTEN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for soften that I've seen before include "Become gentler" , "Make less hard or become less severe" , "To moderate" , "Tone down" , "become less rough" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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