tone down

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.

• water down

• downtone, note down