to tone down
56
3.7
- phrasal verb
- /toʊn daʊn/
- To create a more relaxed atmosphere, he chose to tone down the bright colors in the presentation.
- tone down the rhetoric
- try to tone down
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Watch on YouTubeI know they got to tone it down, use a dry bun or something.
- I know they got to tone it down, use a dry bun or something.
- He was like, right, Tone it down, starting to complain, whatever.
- So, you know, let's tone down the hype a little bit here.
- I'm sorry, Let me let me tone down the rhetoric.
- No, no, we're toning down the rhetoric.
- Let's broaden our scope, tone down the hype, and recognize the serious challenges ahead.
Examples
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So that's also going to help to kind of tone down the brightness a little bit.
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So, you know, let's tone down the hype a little bit here.
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Allow me to just go ahead and tone that down a little bit.
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I just have tried to kind of tone it down, scale it back.
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I think you might need to tone it down just a little bit.
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Just tone it down a little.
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Now, it's a little rough, and we might have to tone it down a bit.
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- Griffin, you got to tone it down.
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A point came when he finally decided that he had to tone down the rhetoric.
Fiction book (1991) -
Yet I'm always told I need to quote, tone it down and be less aggressive in my approach.
Synonyms
408
1.0
Make something go down in position, amount, or strength
147
2.7
Make the sound or heat from something lower, for example music
123
3.0
Make an amount or level lower
116
2.1
To make something weaker or in a worse state
98
3.1
Make something less strong or harsh
81
3.0
To make something less wild or strong
72
2.8
To make something smaller in amount or strength
54
2.0
Make people or things less noisy and less active
45
2.4
To become less bright or make a light weaker
41
4.4
Make something less strong or noticeable, for example sound and feeling
41
4.4
To make something less strong or intense
35
4.0
To become or make something softer, gentler, and more pleasant
33
3.4
Cause something to become less sharp, strong or bright
22
6.8
To become less strong or severe and to make something do the same
19
5.8
To make a sound or feeling quieter so it is less noticeable
17
4.1
Make something, like a taste, sound, or plan, less strong
13
4.1
To make a feeling, sound, or action less strong
11
5.7
Reduce the strength of feelings or public anger
10
7.4
To act in a less loud or angry way
6
5.5
To make a feeling, sound, or pain less strong
5
4.8
To make a sound or feeling less strong
5
7.9
To make something weaker, like sound or light
3
4.6
Make someone or something less noisy and calmer
2
3.5
Make something less strong or harsh
Antonyms
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to make something less strong or intense' is directly derivable from combining 'tone' (adjusting pitch/force or manner of expression) with 'down' (to lower or reduce); lowering a tone straightforwardly maps to reducing intensity. This is a common verb+particle compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would normally infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Tone down comes from the simple image of turning a radio or music knob to make the sound softer. The word tone means the sound or colour and down means lower, so to tone down something is to 'make it less strong'.