dialed back
Made less intense
Dialed back means reduced in intensity, scale, or ambition.
The image is of turning a dial to lower a setting: They dialed back the rhetoric after the backlash, We've dialed back our expansion plans.
The phrase suggests a deliberate, controlled reduction rather than an abrupt stop.
Also appears as dial it back: You need to dial it back a notch.
- restrictedLimited in scope
- reined inRestrained or controlled
- revisedChanged after reconsideration
- scaled downReduced proportionally in size
- diminishedMade or became smaller
tempered · toned down · recalibrated · lessened · minimized · modified · tweaked · taken down a notch · curtailed · altered · decreased · constrained · fine-tuned · controlled · trimmed · suppressed · muted · regulated
dialed backdialed up
Increased in degree
ramped up · amplified · cranked up · amped up · turned up
dialed backdoubled down
Strengthened a risky position
leaned in · went all in · accelerated · redoubled · pushed forward
dialed backinflamed
Provoked or medically irritated
heightened · exaggerated · dramatized · played up · emphasized
dial, dialed, dialled, dialing, dialling, dials, back, backed, backing