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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Many of the artists now topping the charts have come under fierce criticism because their lyrics often paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2025 -
The emotional stories linked with characters portrayed as cold-blooded killers trained by terrorists have left the film amid wide criticism over its intentions.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 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
-
These designs enhance performance during long-range missions by minimizing drag, supporting higher speeds, and improving fuel efficiency.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
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
-
The rock legend's public condemnation of Trump is not new.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
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His condemnation was echoed by former CIA, National Security Council and FBI counterterrorism leader Phil Mudd and retired four star Army General Brian McCaffrey.—
Rick Pozniak,
Boston Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
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
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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
Noun
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Scott Rudin, the powerful producer who was exiled from Broadway and Hollywood four years ago after allegations of bullying led to widespread denunciations and even protesters in the streets, has been quietly preparing to return to show business.—
Michael Paulson,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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User-adjudicators took to social media, coming down against Gallardo with a polarizing logic of denunciation.—
Fabiola Iza,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The commissioners held an executive session Monday, an hour before the district sent an email with the Tuesday censure agenda item.—
Nick Rosenberger,
Idaho Statesman,
1 Apr. 2025
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Out of the privation, the challenge, and the censure of slavery and the unfulfilled promise of post-Reconstruction justice, Black musicians embraced experimentation and innovation, ingenuity and joy, and a multigenerational call and response speaking truth to power that endures to the present day.—
Elizabeth Alexander,
Time,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Congress often seems incapable of doing anything other than hurl petty invectives across the aisle.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
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Such invective, coming from a saboteur with firsthand experience of institutional prudishness, put DeGenevieve in a paradoxical position: that of a professor who, because she was tenured, had the luxury of deriding her own ivory tower.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Soft-pedaling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soft-pedaling. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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