Adjacent Words

tone down definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping [syn: muffle, mute, dull, damp, dampen, tone down]
2: make less strong or intense; soften; "Tone down that aggressive letter"; "The author finally tamed some of his potentially offensive statements" [syn: tone down, moderate, tame]

U.S. Military Dictionary

See attenuation.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you tone down something that you have written or said, you make it less forceful, severe, or offensive. The fiery right-wing leader toned down his militant statements after the meeting... We have had to ask the agency and their client to tone their ads down. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P 2. If you tone down a colour or a flavour, you make it less bright or strong. When Ken Hom wrote his first book for the BBC he was asked to tone down the spices and garlic in his recipes. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

1. Give a lower tone to. 2. Moderate, relax, diminish, weaken, soften. 3. (Painting.) Soften, bring colors into harmonious relations.

Moby Thesaurus

abate, achromatize, allay, alleviate, assuage, atone, attemper, attune, baffle, bank the fire, blanch, bleach, blunt, chasten, chord, constrain, control, cushion, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, deafen, decolor, decolorize, dim, diminish, discolor, downplay, drain, drain of color, dull, ease, etiolate, extenuate, fade, fluff, fume, gentle, keep within bounds, knead, laxate, lay, lenify, lessen, lighten, limber, limber up, loosen, mash, massage, mat, mellow, milden, mitigate, moderate, modulate, mollify, muffle, mute, obtund, pale, palliate, peroxide, play down, plump, pulp, put in tune, reduce, reduce the temperature, relax, restrain, shake up, slacken, slow down, smash, smother, sober, sober down, soft-pedal, soften, soften up, squash, stifle, stop, string, subdue, supple, suppress, tame, tarnish, temper, tenderize, tone up, tune, tune down, tune up, underplay, voice, wash out, weaken, whiten