tone down

English

Verb

tone down

  1. (idiomatic) To relax; to make quieter or less obtrusive; to make milder.
    Ask them to tone down that orange and pink color scheme a bit.
    I hope they'll tone it down and stop arguing so much.
    • Charles Kingsley
      its thousand hues toned down harmoniously
  2. To moderate or relax; to diminish or weaken the striking characteristics of; to soften.
    • Palfrey
      The best method for the purpose in hand was to employ someone of a character and position suited to get possession of their confidence, and then use it to tone down their religious strictures.
  3. To make a television program, piece of writing, etc. less offensive and so more suitable for a family audience.

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