tone (down)

verb

Definition of tone (down)next
as in to mute

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tone (down)
  1. mute
  2. blunt
  3. muffle
  4. dull
  5. reduce
  6. decrease
  7. damp
  8. dampen
Verb
  • Pressing the reset button will mute the alarm for one minute, and a long press (10 seconds) will reset and restart the sensor.
    — John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Shot on England’s coasts and countryside, the film favors muted costumes, no makeup and quiet, lingering scenes, presenting Austen’s young women as emotionally immediate and recognizably modern.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of mute
Verb
  • The Election Commission may yet blunt the controversy by admitting voters whose appeals are pending or by making procedural concessions that reduce the immediate grievances.
    — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In theory, the clearinghouse would monitor the speed of AI growth without blunting the nation’s competitive advantage.
    — John Caruso, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of blunt
Verb
  • The sullen tribute to Payne settled the room into a cool near-silence, punctured by quiet gasps and muffled crying.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2026
  • After two hours of practice, with the 10-foot-tall fences doing little to muffle the bullhorn orders and corresponding groans, the huddle broke and the personalities sprung to life.
    — Noah White, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of muffle
Verb
  • The primary effects generally wear off in less than an hour, but a person’s senses may remain dulled and their judgment and coordination impaired for several hours afterward.
    — Christopher P. Holstege, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Extreme weather events, such as drought or heavy rainfall, also stress trees and can trigger them to rapidly protect themselves by more rapidly pulling in the chlorophyll from their leaves, dulling fall colors.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of dull
Verb
  • Sullivan touted his Bycatch Reduction Act, a bill intended to reduce excess fish caught by large commercial trawlers.
    — Matthew Choi The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Energy-absorbing seats are designed to manage forces transmitted to occupants during an impact, potentially reducing injury risks.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of reduce
Verb
  • The definitive study of feedback, Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi’s meta-analysis of 23,663 observations, found that over a third of feedback interventions decreased performance.
    — Zaharia-Gabriel Sidere, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • These include gravitational forces, commonly known as G-forces, that increase or decrease the pressure riders feel on their bodies during rapid acceleration and deceleration.
    — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of decrease
Verb
  • The first two days are likely to feature weather interruptions and damp conditions suited to bowlers.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Suspension is taken care of by 43-mm upside-down forks with adjustable rebound and compression damping, and an adjustable central spring strut at the rear.
    — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of damp
Verb
  • Will the mood be dampened by recent criticism of the organization?
    — Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Playing the contrarian to the Federal Reserve’s plans to stimulate or dampen the economy only ends badly.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of dampen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

toned (down)
tone (down)
toned (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tone (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tone%20%28down%29. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of puissant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All