as in downplayed
to reduce in apparent importance
she politely tries to soft-pedal her accomplishments when talking to less fortunate people
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Recent Examples of soft-pedaled
In fact, several of the investigators believed the shooting was intentional, and that the Biden administration had actually soft-pedaled the investigation’s findings to appease Israel.
—
Scott Griffen, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Scott Griffen, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for soft-pedaled
Verb
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Asked about arms sales to Taiwan, Hegseth downplayed concerns that a multi-billion-dollar package could be affected as the United States draws down its weapons stockpiles amid the Middle East conflict.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
30 May 2026
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The president has pressured the Fed to cut rates, while Warsh has recently downplayed the significance and accuracy of the PCE gauge.—
D. Brian Blank,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Starry is propelled by my real and personal anger that these women’s contributions to the genre have been minimized or elided altogether.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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When speaking to Popcast, Levinson also defended the sexualization of the series, explained why some of the storylines ended up mirroring real life, and why some characters were minimized.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Hassett dismissed Chapman's assessment, insisting that there is enough inventory.—
Ford McCracken,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
-
When he’s dismissed from his SETI job, a huge cover-up ensues.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Soft-pedaled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-pedaled. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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