as in criticism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in minimizing
to reduce in apparent importance
she politely tries to soft-pedal her accomplishments when talking to less fortunate people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for soft-pedaling
Noun
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The event gave the royals the opportunity to put on a united front in the face of Harry and Meghan's criticisms made during the show.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025 -
Ultimately, interviews with more than two dozen people showed that Trump's aides at the White House and USAGM wanted the network to reflect Trump's successes and to tamp down on criticisms of him - a consistent thread of recent developments.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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This approach ensures a steady cash flow by minimizing overdue payments and reduces the risk of bad debt through proactive monitoring and segmentation.—
Ashish Srimal,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
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These plans ensure that if a breach occurs, the response is swift, organized and transparent, minimizing damage and protecting customer data.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
26 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Modi and many of his BJP allies have spent years demonizing cow-killers while at the same time downplaying lynching reports.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2025
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Another option— downplaying the captivity— wasn’t viable in a pre-cable era when the most trusted man in America, Walter Cronkite, reminded viewers every night on the CBS Evening News exactly how many days the hostages had been held.—
Jonathan Alter,
TIME,
29 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Thailand deported more than 100 of them to China in 2015, drawing condemnation from the international community.—
Michael Sullivan,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2025
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The posts quickly drew condemnation from many users on Truth Social and Instagram, even from people who identified themselves as Republicans.—
Ben Goggin,
NBC News,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The company stuck to its core DVD rental model while dismissing opportunities to innovate on the periphery.—
ByMargie Warrell,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
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Top Stories Just before Christmas, Biden egregiously commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 death row inmates, dismissing years of careful work by prosecutors, judges, and juries.—
The Editors,
National Review,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Their desire for freedom was at the same time a denunciation of serfdom.—
Michael Bruening,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
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The denunciation of companies buying back stock has even worked itself into tax policy, as there is now a 1% excise tax applied to the value of stock repurchased by a corporation.—
Richard Mansouri,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Brown’s refusal to show New Zealand officials the text of the China deal ahead of his trip prompted censure from Wellington this month.—
Charlotte Graham-McLay,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2025
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Those who stick around and suffer a formal censure from their governing academic body usually — but not automatically — face removal from office by a higher power (typically the university’s board of trustees, or the state’s governor).—
Shaun Richman,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Squabbling coaches — Tindall had put his fingers to his lips to hush Unai Emery after Duran’s departure, earning invective in response — added to the sense of renaissance.—
George Caulkin,
The Athletic,
27 Dec. 2024
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Police officers have been injured, spit on and had objects hurled at them, the same invective screamed at them as the insurrectionists screamed at the Capitol Police on Jan. 6.—
Jeff Robbins,
Boston Herald,
10 June 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Soft-pedaling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-pedaling. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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