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
Old school with a gift for storytelling, Simon was not one to soft-pedal his mentees. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 9 May 2026 Heringer believes the city soft-pedals crime, pointing to metrics that show improvement but not where pockets of violent crime persist. — Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Sep. 2025
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 This is a two-part skill; his superb legato (or connected articulation) on the keyboard was heightened by skillful deployment of both the sustaining and the soft pedal. — Marcus Overton, sandiegouniontribune.com, 8 Jan. 2018 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 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All