ALL meanings of soft-pedal
soft-ped·al
S s - 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
- verb soft-pedal If you soft-pedal something, you deliberately reduce the amount of activity or pressure that you have been using to get something done or seen. 0
- noun soft-pedal 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 0
- verb soft-pedal to mute the tone of (a piano) by depressing the soft pedal 0
- verb soft-pedal to make (something, esp something unpleasant) less obvious by deliberately failing to emphasize or allude to it 0
- noun soft-pedal a pedal used to soften or dampen the tone of a piano or any of certain other musical instruments 0
- verb transitive soft-pedal to soften or dampen the tone of (a musical instrument) by use of a special pedal 0
- verb transitive soft-pedal to make less emphatic, less obtrusive, less conspicuous, etc.; tone down; play down 0