mellow

Mr. Day’s lushly orchestrated score, sweetly tonal throughout and full of harp riffs, is paced with a mellow sameness that even the frequent big climaxes can’t jolt into dramatic excitement or dangerous energy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Across Silicon Valley, work is being remade as once mellow spaces become dens of din.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

Over time, "you mellow, build networks and take what you can", often in the private sector.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

He returned to RCA with “Emergence,” a mellow record designed to follow King’s “Tapestry” onto the radio, but that airplay never materialized: Sedaka was still seen as a relic of the early ’60s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026

The sunlight was quiet and mellow in the room.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

The inner fire and determination remain, but he is mellower, more mature these days.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

They were considerably mellower than the originals—we got a taste of what those might have been like from a brief preview set performed by the blues guitarist and singer Memphis Gold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025

Evolving from a mellower medley attempted after the production’s 2017 debut, the Megasix picked up its defining feature from producer Kenny Wax.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2023

A cousin of the sitar, but with a slightly mellower tone, the sarod is fretless, so pitch sliding, almost like a steel guitar does, is a vital component of the technique.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

Quackenbush felt mellower by the end of the afternoon as we stood on the float in front of the Crew House, gathering up towels.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Your dad, Luis A Miranda, works in politics and has a documentary coming out about him… Although I famously have no chill, I always say I’m the mellowest member of my family.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 22, 2020

Even the mellowest teens are raging against the pandemic quarantine.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2020

Koenig, who carries himself like the mellowest dude at a black-tie event, doesn’t mind if a listener takes something real in his lyrics for something imagined.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2019

“Music After the Fall,” like the blog, addresses a vast range of music, from the gnarliest experimentalism to the mellowest minimalism, and Rutherford-Johnson applies a critical intelligence that is at once rigorous and generous.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 20, 2018

I say, but the master-at-arms seems to be ignoring me now, so I direct the question to the skull with a rose in its mouth, figuring it might be the mellowest one.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

And Joq is genuinely fascinated by the way hickory smoke mellows and rounds out a pungent blue cheese.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

"Can y'all come straighten it up over here? It's not looking luxurious," Sean "Diddy" Combs says in a voice note to his personal assistants as R&B music mellows in the background.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025

As the garden mellows and dies down, potted plants take center stage with their fresh foliage and seasonal shadings.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2023

A generous amount of ginger, cut into matchsticks, mellows and softens as it cooks, and adds a brightness that perks up the deeper flavors.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 14, 2023

His nature is like wine of a good vintage: time cannot sour, but only mellows him. 

From Charlotte Brontë and Her Circle by Clement King Shorter

His views had mellowed by the time he took charge of that “historic disaster” with its awesome control over money and banks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Now it has mellowed on expectations that an agreement between the U.S. and Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

As much as Bellamy might have mellowed as a coach, his half-time tirade demonstrated that his fiery temper is still in there somewhere.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

In Sudan’s case, she has outsmarted the risk of succumbing to tradition, and the freedom has raised and mellowed all stakes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025

They had mellowed with the years, however, and were now more tolerant, exacting only the dutiful homage they felt to be their due as conquerors.

From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford

“Dancing on the Ceiling” does the opposite, starting with very verbose Art Tatum-style arpeggios in the verse but then mellowing out in the chorus, and quoting “All This and Heaven Too.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

Tuna started to take off after new fishing technology allowed sport fishermen to catch larger and larger fish, and processing technology drained excess fat from the tuna, mellowing its flavor.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2023

Their mellowing relationship is meant to mirror the growth of civil rights in the South.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023

Though Harley and Ivy’s honeymoon phase is already beginning to wane as Harley Quinn’s third season opens, the mellowing of their relationship’s something the series never really frames as a sign of danger.

From The Verge ● Jul. 27, 2022

I was listening to Lana Del Rey then, and tonight I’m mellowing out to the Chromatics cover of “I’m on Fire.”

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera