soft-pedal

1 of 2

verb

soft-ped·​al ˈsȯf(t)-ˈpe-dᵊl How to pronounce soft-pedal (audio)
soft-pedaled; soft-pedaling; soft-pedals
Synonyms of soft-pedalnext

transitive verb

1
: play down, de-emphasize
soft-pedal the issue
2
: to use the soft pedal in playing

soft pedal

2 of 2

noun

1
: a foot pedal on a piano that reduces the volume of sound
2
: something that muffles, deadens, or reduces effect

Synonyms of soft-pedal

Relevance

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of soft-pedal in a Sentence

Verb she politely tries to soft-pedal her accomplishments when talking to less fortunate people
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Verb
That’s not because Crystal soft-pedals the emotional horror of returning to your home to find charred remains after watching, helpless, as flames took the locus of all your best memories. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026 That’s not because Crystal soft-pedals the emotional horror of returning to the charred remains of your home after watching, helpless, as flames took the locus of all your best memories. — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
But at least Chalamet doesn’t try to soft pedal Dylan’s surliness and careerism, and his vocal re-creations are mostly spot on. — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025 Authors aimed at the business market tend to soft pedal AI, speaking only about the benefits while downplaying or outright ignoring the dangers. — David A. Teich, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for soft-pedal

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1912, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of soft-pedal was in 1817

Rhymes for soft-pedal

See All Rhymes for soft-pedal

Browse Nearby Words

soft patch
soft-pedal
soft pedal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Soft-pedal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soft-pedal. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

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 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?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All