soft-pedaled

verb

Definition of soft-pedalednext
past tense of soft-pedal
as in downplayed
to reduce in apparent importance she politely tries to soft-pedal her accomplishments when talking to less fortunate people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for soft-pedaled
  1. downplayed
  2. minimized
  3. dismissed
Verb
  • Judy Randall, the nonpartisan head of Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor, said that multiple state agencies under the Walz administration have repeatedly downplayed and ignored looming oversight failures, according to a CNN report.
    Emily Hallas, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 4 Oct. 2024
  • In hopes of resurrecting the deal, the Biden-Harris administration once again gave billions in sanctions relief to Iran and once again downplayed its bad behavior.
    The Editors, National Review, 2 Oct. 2024
Definition of downplayed
Verb
  • During these blocks, distractions are minimized, and the only thing on your agenda is the task at hand.
    Benjamin Laker, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
  • This approach positions brand-building activities as short-term expenditures to be minimized, not long-term investments to be nurtured.
    Gautam Mehra, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of minimized
Verb
  • Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but his case was abruptly dismissed in July over allegations that prosecutors withheld evidence.
    Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Senior management was the last to leave about 45 minutes after the plant had been closed and all other employees had been dismissed, the company said.
    Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of dismissed
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near soft-pedaled

soft pedal

soft-pedaled

soft-pedaling

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Soft-pedaled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-pedaled. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
silhouette of a man with a megaphone against a british flag
Another Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Innit? A double-decker quiz with words from across the pond