toning down

Verb

tone down (third-person singular simple present tones down, present participle toning down, simple past and past participle toned down)

1. (ambitransitive) To relax; to make quieter or less obtrusive; to make milder.
   • Ask them to tone down that orange and pink color scheme a bit.

   Antonyms:

   tone up

2. (ambitransitive, figuratively) To moderate or relax; to diminish or weaken the striking characteristics of; to soften.
   • The best method for the purpose in hand was to employ some one of a character and position suited to get possession of their confidence, and then use it to tone down their religious strictness, and, if circumstances should favor, to disturb the ecclesiastical constitution which they had set up.1858, John Gorham Palfrey, chapter VI, in History of New England during the Stuart Dynasty. […], volume I, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company, →OCLC, book I, page 218
3. (ambitransitive) To make a television program, piece of writing, etc. less offensive and so more suitable for a family audience.