as in downplays
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-pedals
Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
Heringer believes the city soft-pedals crime, pointing to metrics that show improvement but not where pockets of violent crime persist.
—Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for soft-pedals
Verb
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Govan, for his part, downplays the controversy.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
6 Mar. 2026
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Writer/director Hammer, though, downplays the melodrama inherent to this scenario, even while shooting sequences, whether in Martin and Leslie’s apartment or in various hospitals, with a bracing handheld intimacy.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Located in the Baiyinkulun Steppe & Volcano Tourism Resort of Inner Mongolia, China, the 3,532-square-meter (38,018-sq-ft) project minimizes its footprint on the fragile landscape, while focusing on soil erosion prevention.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Feb. 2026
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The DreamCloud truly minimizes sleep disturbance from your neighbor.—
Kristi Kellogg,
Architectural Digest,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Klobuchar plans to introduce new legislation that could help bolster disclosure requirements about the circumstances surrounding settlements, and give states more power to intervene, review, and continue cases the DOJ voluntarily dismisses.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
9 Mar. 2026
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Of course, that argument dismisses the eyeball test.—
Kirk Bohls,
Houston Chronicle,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Soft-pedals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-pedals. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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