dials back
Tones it down
To dial back is to reduce intensity, scale, or extremity—pulling something back from where it had been pushed.
You dial back rhetoric, spending, ambitions, or aggression: The senator dialed back her criticism after the backlash.
The image comes from turning a dial counterclockwise to lower a setting.
Often implies a tactical retreat rather than a change of heart.
- revertReturn to earlier condition
- softenMake less firm
- lessenReduce in degree
- reduceMake smaller in degree
- ease upBecome less intense
undo · moderate · pump the brakes · mitigate · temper · understate · diminish · backtrack · tone down · scale down · retract · de-escalate · curtail · mellow · restrain · turn down · dilute · minimize
dials backdoubles down
Increases commitment despite risk
leans in · digs in · pushes forward · presses on · embraces
dials backinflames
Arouses intense emotion
stokes · fans the flames · sharpens · hardens · ups the ante
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