Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb Music To soften or mute the tone of by depressing the soft pedal.
- transitive verb Informal To make less emphatic or obvious; play down.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To attempt to
persuade without beingobvious about it, byunderstating a position so the listener takes the good points asobvious . - verb To
tone down ,damp ,mute orobscure something; to proceed in a less forceful,circumspect orsubdued manner.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb play down or obscure
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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This tendency for physicians to soft-pedal bad news appears to be common.
Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.: Coping with Terminal Illness: The Problem of Getting an Honest Prognosis Ph.D. Joseph Nowinski 2012
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Chancellor Merkel had said before Wen's arrival that she would not soft-pedal human rights issues despite Germany's desire for increased economic cooperation with China.
Chinese Premier Signs Multi-Billion Dollar Deals with Germany 2011
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Mr. Manchin bridles at the idea he would ever soft-pedal criticism out of party loyalty.
Wayward Senate Democrats Keep Distance From Obama Janet Hook 2011
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This tendency for physicians to soft-pedal bad news appears to be common.
Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.: Coping with Terminal Illness: The Problem of Getting an Honest Prognosis Ph.D. Joseph Nowinski 2012
-
This tendency for physicians to soft-pedal bad news appears to be common.
Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.: Coping with Terminal Illness: The Problem of Getting an Honest Prognosis Ph.D. Joseph Nowinski 2012
-
Chancellor Merkel had said before Wen's arrival that she would not soft-pedal human rights issues despite Germany's desire for increased economic cooperation with China.
Chinese Premier Signs Multi-Billion Dollar Deals with Germany 2011
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The Giants' run game hasn't looked good all year, but it's definitely stalled without Bradshaw, and Coughlin didn't soft-pedal in saying his starting running back's return would be a big spark "for sure."
Trying to Prevent Perfection Aditi Kinkhabwala 2011
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(This production seems almost at times to soft-pedal the work's hostility toward American institutions; a vigorously up-tempo version of the song slamming flag-worship, "Don't Put It Down," obscures the number's acidic tone.)
The wonderfully unruly 'Hair' is still a blowout 42 years after its Broadway debut Peter Marks 2010
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Chancellor Merkel had said before Wen's arrival that she would not soft-pedal human rights issues despite Germany's desire for increased economic cooperation with China.
Chinese Premier Signs Multi-Billion Dollar Deals with Germany 2011
-
This tendency for physicians to soft-pedal bad news appears to be common.
Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.: Coping with Terminal Illness: The Problem of Getting an Honest Prognosis Ph.D. Joseph Nowinski 2012
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