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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But the transportation secretary on Sunday also repeatedly echoed Trump and his top allies' criticism of DEI efforts in the immediate aftermath of the DC-area collision.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA TODAY,
2 Feb. 2025 -
The reality smash hit has come in for a lot of criticism of late, with season seven particularly causing a great deal of passionate debate online.—
Abid Rahman,
The Hollywood Reporter,
1 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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The Beijing government has promised retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Chinese exports after a raft of new trade measures also drew sharp condemnation from Mexico and Canada.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
2 Feb. 2025
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West’s hellfire-and-locust symbolism parodied biblical judgment, but such shame no longer applies to current secular permissiveness or the progressive ideology in Marxist writer Mike Davis’s City of Quartz (1990), famous for its subversive condemnation of Los Angeles’s capitalist elitism.—
Armond White,
National Review,
31 Jan. 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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Meanwhile, at the Poston camp in Arizona, Ted Haas actively resisted, leading the staff in a denunciation of the fence that halted its construction.—
Eric Muller,
The Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2025
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Some causes included an end to the Vietnam War; nuclear disarmament; women’s equality; pro-life movement; gay/lesbian rights; freedom for Soviet Jews; fighting against AIDS; the MeToo movement; and support for Israel/denunciation of antisemitism.—
Paul L. Newman,
New York Daily News,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The censure hasn’t stopped Turner from seeking the mayoral post.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2025
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The day after the fighter’s death, Trump dismissed the censure.—
Mikal Gilmore,
Rolling Stone,
17 Jan. 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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Thesaurus Entries Near soft-pedaling
Cite this Entry
“Soft-pedaling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-pedaling. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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