Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [sawft, soft ped-l or for 6–8, peed-l]
- /sɔft, sɒft ˈpɛd l or for 6–8, ˈpid l/
- /sɒft ˈped.əl/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [sawft, soft ped-l or for 6–8, peed-l]
- /sɔft, sɒft ˈpɛd l or for 6–8, ˈpid l/
Definitions of soft-pedal word
- verb without object soft-pedal to use the soft pedal. 1
- verb with object soft-pedal to soften the sound of by using the soft pedal. 1
- verb with object soft-pedal Informal. to tone or play down; make less strong, as an idea or fact: The dean soft-pedaled the reports of cheating. 1
- noun soft-pedal Also called una corda pedal. a pedal, as on a piano, for reducing tonal volume. 1
- noun soft-pedal Informal. something that restrains or dampens: to put a soft pedal on one's enthusiasm. 1
- transitive verb soft-pedal downplay, try to minimize 1
Information block about the term
Origin of soft-pedal
First appearance:
before 1915 One of the 14% newest English words
First recorded in 1915-20; v. use of noun phrase soft pedal
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Soft-pedal
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
soft-pedal popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 31% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 63% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
Synonyms for soft-pedal
verb soft-pedal
- alleviate — If you alleviate pain, suffering, or an unpleasant condition, you make it less intense or severe.
- balmed — simple past tense and past participle of balm.
- be-little — to regard or portray as less impressive or important than appearances indicate; depreciate; disparage.
- choke off — To choke off financial growth means to restrict or control the rate at which a country's economy can grow.
- clam up — If someone clams up, they stop talking, often because they are shy or to avoid giving away secrets.
Antonyms for soft-pedal
verb soft-pedal
- highlight — to emphasize or make prominent.
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with s
- Words starting with so
- Words starting with sof
- Words starting with soft
- Words starting with softp
- Words starting with softpe
- Words starting with softped
- Words starting with softpeda
- Words starting with softpedal