soft-pedal

Meaning

1. (transitive) To reduce the volume of (music, a sound, etc.).
2. (figuratively, transitive) To reduce the force or impact of (something); to damp, to mute; especially, to minimize the less desirable aspects of (something); to play down, to tone down.
3. (figuratively, transitive) To attempt to persuade someone about (something) through understatement, so that the listener accepts the good points as obvious.
4. (figuratively, intransitive) Chiefly followed by on: to act in a less assertive or forceful manner.

Synonyms

downplay

Translations

herunterspielen

attutire

suavizar

ablandar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌsɒf(t)ˈpɛdl̩/

Etymology

From soft pedal (“leftmost foot-pedal on most pianos which, when pushed, dampens the strings and so softens the note played”, noun).