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soft-pedal
| Main Entry: |
soft-pedal
|
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | play down |
| Synonyms: | blue-pencil, euphemize, hush-hush, mitigate, moderate, palliate, put on the soft pedal, shush, subdue, tone down |
| Main Entry: | alleviate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | relieve; lessen |
| Synonyms: | allay, assuage, ease, lighten, mitigate, mollify, pacify, pour oil on, soft-pedal, take the bite out, take the edge off, take the sting out |
| Antonyms: | aggravate, heighten, increase, intensify, magnify |
| Main Entry: | calm |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make composed, quiet |
| Synonyms: | allay, alleviate, appease, assuage, balm, becalm, compose, cool, cool it, cool out, hush, lay back, lull, mitigate, mollify, pacify, placate, quiet, quieten, relax, relieve, sedate, settle, simmer down, soft-pedal, soothe, steady, still, stroke, take it easy, take the edge off, tranquilize |
| Antonyms: | agitate, anger, disquiet, distract, excite, inflame, irritate, outrage, rouse, ruffle, worry |
| Main Entry: | debrief |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | silence |
| Synonyms: | censor, dummy up, gag, hold one's tongue, hush up, mute, muzzle, put the lid on, quash, say nothing, shut up, sit on, soft-pedal, squelch, stifle, suppress |
| Main Entry: | gloss |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | conceal truth |
| Synonyms: | belie, camouflage, cover up, deacon, disguise, doctor, explain, extenuate, falsify, hide, justify, mask, misrepresent, palliate, rationalize, smooth over, soft-pedal, sugarcoat, varnish, veil, veneer, white, whiten, whitewash |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain, reveal |
| Main Entry: | lessen |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | lower, reduce |
| Synonyms: | abate, abridge, amputate, attenuate, become smaller, clip, close, contract, crop, curtail, cut, cut back, de-escalate, decline, decrease, degrade, die down, dilute, diminish, downsize, drain, dwindle, ease, erode, grow less, impair, lighten, minify, minimize, mitigate, moderate, narrow, roll back, shrink, slack up, slacken, slow down, soft-pedal, take the bite out, take the edge off, take the sting out, taper, taper off, thin, truncate, weaken, wind down |
| Notes: | lessen means to decrease in size, extent, or range, while a lesson is a unit of instruction |
| Antonyms: | enlarge, extend, increase, raise, strengthen |
| Main Entry: | lull |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | calm, ease off |
| Synonyms: | abate, allay, balm, becalm, cease, chill out, compose, cool off, cool*, decrease, die down, diminish, dwindle, ebb, fall, hush, lay back, let up, lullaby, moderate, pacify, put a lid on, qualify, quell, quiet, quiet down, settle, slacken, soft-pedal, soothe, still, stroke, subdue, subside, take it easy, take the edge, take the sting out, temper, tranquilize, wane |
| Antonyms: | energize, excite |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | moderate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | restrain, control |
| Synonyms: | abate, allay, alleviate, appease, assuage, calm, chasten, check, constrain, cool out, cool*, curb, decline, decrease, die down, diminish, ease off, fall, lessen, let up, meet halfway, mitigate, modify, modulate, mollify, pacify, play down, qualify, quiet, reduce, regulate, relent, relieve, repress, slacken, slow, soft-pedal, soften, subdue, subside, tame, temper, tone down, wane |
| Antonyms: | egg on, free, incite, let go, liberate, unleash |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | muffle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | suppress, make quiet |
| Synonyms: | conceal, cover, cushion, dampen, deaden, decrease, drown, dull, envelop, gag, hide, hush, mellow, mute, muzzle, put the lid on, quieten, shut down, silence, sit down on, smother, soft-pedal, soften, squelch, stifle, subdue, tone down, wrap* |
| Antonyms: | blab, let loose, tell |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
