soft-pedal
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soft-ped·al
(sôft′pĕd′l, sŏft′-)tr.v. soft-ped·aled, soft-ped·al·ing, soft-ped·als or soft-ped·alled or soft-ped·al·ling
1. Music To soften or mute the tone of by depressing the soft pedal.
2. Informal To make less emphatic or obvious; play down: soft-pedal a potentially explosive issue.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
soft-pedal
vb (tr) , -als, -alling or -alled, -als, -aling or -aled
1. (Music, other) to mute the tone of (a piano) by depressing the soft pedal
2. informal to make (something, esp something unpleasant) less obvious by deliberately failing to emphasize or allude to it
n
(Instruments) a foot-operated lever on a piano, the left one of two, that either moves the whole action closer to the strings so that the hammers strike with less force or causes fewer of the strings to sound. Compare sustaining pedal, piano 1
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
soft′ ped′al
n.
1. a pedal, as on a piano, for reducing tonal volume.
2. something that restrains or dampens.
[1915–20]
soft′-ped′al
v. -aled, -al•ing (esp. Brit.) -alled, -al•ling. v.i.
1. to use the soft pedal of a piano.
v.t. 2. to attempt to make less obvious, important, or objectionable; downplay.
[1915–20]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
soft-pedal
Past participle: soft-pedalled
Gerund: soft-pedalling
| Imperative |
|---|
| soft-pedal |
| soft-pedal |
| Present |
|---|
| I soft-pedal |
| you soft-pedal |
| he/she/it soft-pedals |
| we soft-pedal |
| you soft-pedal |
| they soft-pedal |
| Preterite |
|---|
| I soft-pedalled |
| you soft-pedalled |
| he/she/it soft-pedalled |
| we soft-pedalled |
| you soft-pedalled |
| they soft-pedalled |
| Present Continuous |
|---|
| I am soft-pedalling |
| you are soft-pedalling |
| he/she/it is soft-pedalling |
| we are soft-pedalling |
| you are soft-pedalling |
| they are soft-pedalling |
| Present Perfect |
|---|
| I have soft-pedalled |
| you have soft-pedalled |
| he/she/it has soft-pedalled |
| we have soft-pedalled |
| you have soft-pedalled |
| they have soft-pedalled |
| Past Continuous |
|---|
| I was soft-pedalling |
| you were soft-pedalling |
| he/she/it was soft-pedalling |
| we were soft-pedalling |
| you were soft-pedalling |
| they were soft-pedalling |
| Past Perfect |
|---|
| I had soft-pedalled |
| you had soft-pedalled |
| he/she/it had soft-pedalled |
| we had soft-pedalled |
| you had soft-pedalled |
| they had soft-pedalled |
| Future |
|---|
| I will soft-pedal |
| you will soft-pedal |
| he/she/it will soft-pedal |
| we will soft-pedal |
| you will soft-pedal |
| they will soft-pedal |
| Future Perfect |
|---|
| I will have soft-pedalled |
| you will have soft-pedalled |
| he/she/it will have soft-pedalled |
| we will have soft-pedalled |
| you will have soft-pedalled |
| they will have soft-pedalled |
| Future Continuous |
|---|
| I will be soft-pedalling |
| you will be soft-pedalling |
| he/she/it will be soft-pedalling |
| we will be soft-pedalling |
| you will be soft-pedalling |
| they will be soft-pedalling |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I have been soft-pedalling |
| you have been soft-pedalling |
| he/she/it has been soft-pedalling |
| we have been soft-pedalling |
| you have been soft-pedalling |
| they have been soft-pedalling |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I will have been soft-pedalling |
| you will have been soft-pedalling |
| he/she/it will have been soft-pedalling |
| we will have been soft-pedalling |
| you will have been soft-pedalling |
| they will have been soft-pedalling |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I had been soft-pedalling |
| you had been soft-pedalling |
| he/she/it had been soft-pedalling |
| we had been soft-pedalling |
| you had been soft-pedalling |
| they had been soft-pedalling |
| Conditional |
|---|
| I would soft-pedal |
| you would soft-pedal |
| he/she/it would soft-pedal |
| we would soft-pedal |
| you would soft-pedal |
| they would soft-pedal |
| Past Conditional |
|---|
| I would have soft-pedalled |
| you would have soft-pedalled |
| he/she/it would have soft-pedalled |
| we would have soft-pedalled |
| you would have soft-pedalled |
| they would have soft-pedalled |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Verb 1. soft-pedal - play down or obscure; "His advisers soft-pedaled the president's blunder"
background, play down, downplay - understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
soft-pedal
verbInformal. To make less emphatic or obvious:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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