dial sth down
also dial sth back informal— phrasal verb with dial uk/ˈdaɪ.əl/us/ˈdaɪ.əl/verb [ I or T ] -ll- or US usually -l-
to make something less forceful or extreme:
A stage actor may need to dial down the energy for the intimacy of the movie camera.
We must find a way to dial back the violence in our cities.
More examples
- The singer was equally impressive when he briefly dialed down the volume for a handful of acoustic songs.
- Nobody wants a war - we ought to dial down the rhetoric.
- She dialed back the sugar and stopped eating bread.
- This recipe is very spicy. Dial it down if you prefer.
- Now some educators and parents are trying to teach stressed students a new skill: how to dial it down and relax.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making smaller or less
- a nip (here) and a tuck (there) idiom
- attenuate
- axe
- bite
- bite into sth
- dive
- drain
- let up
- lower
- make a hole in sth idiom
- miniaturization
- miniaturize
- minimize
- shrink
- slash
- strip sth away
- stripped down
- subside
- tail off
- take a tumble idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Becoming and making less strong