soften the blow - Wordage.info - Free Thesaurus Tool for Word Discovery - Expanded Thesaurus, Reverse Dictionary Lookup

neutralize collapse: make chemically neutral; "She neutralized the solution"; make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of; "Her optimism neutralizes his gloom"; "This action will negate the effect of my efforts"; make incapable of military action; get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing; "The mafia liquidated the informer"; "the double agent was neutralized"; make politically neutral and thus inoffensive; "The treaty neutralized the small republic"

limber up collapse: make one's body limber or suppler by stretching, as if to prepare for strenuous physical activity

deaden collapse: convert (metallic mercury) into a grey powder consisting of minute globules, as by shaking with chalk or fatty oil; make less lively, intense, or vigorous; impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; "Terror blunted her feelings"; "deaden a sound"; become lifeless, less lively, intense, or active; lose life, force, or vigor; lessen the momentum or velocity of; "deaden a ship's headway"; make vapid or deprive of spirit; "deadened wine"

misfortune collapse: unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event; an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes

massage collapse: kneading and rubbing parts of the body to increase circulation and promote relaxation; give a massage to; "She massaged his sore back"; manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes; "She rubbed down her child with a sponge"

fulminate collapse: a salt or ester of fulminic acid; cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; "the disease fulminated"; criticize severely; "He fulminated against the Republicans' plan to cut Medicare"; "She railed against the bad social policies"

tragedy collapse: drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity

waft collapse: be driven or carried along, as by the air; "Sounds wafted into the room"; blow gently; "A breeze wafted through the door"

soften collapse: become soft or softer; "The bread will soften if you pour some liquid on it"; make soft or softer; "This liquid will soften your laundry"; make (images or sounds) soft or softer

roundhouse collapse: a hook delivered with an exaggerated swing; workplace consisting of a circular building for repairing locomotives

explode collapse: increase rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner; "The population of India is exploding"; "The island's rodent population irrupted"; burst outward, usually with noise; "The champagne bottle exploded"; be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise; "His anger exploded"; cause to burst with a violent release of energy; "We exploded the nuclear bomb"; show (a theory or claim) to be baseless, or refute and make obsolete; show a violent emotional reaction; "The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary"; drive from the stage by noisy disapproval; cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/; destroy by exploding; "The enemy exploded the bridge"

tootle collapse: the sound of casual playing on a musical instrument; "he enjoyed hearing the tootles of their horns as the musicians warmed up"; play (a musical instrument) casually; "the saxophone player was tootling a sad melody"

play out collapse: become spent or exhausted; "The champion's strength played out fast"; play to a finish; "We have got to play this game out, even thought it is clear that we have last"; perform or be performed to the end; "How will the election drama be played out?"

geld collapse: cut off the testicles (of male animals such as horses); "the vet gelded the young horse"

dampen collapse: lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall"; check; keep in check (a fire); make vague or obscure or make (an image) less visible; "muffle the message"; reduce the amplitude (of oscillations or waves)

casualty collapse: a decrease of military personnel or equipment; someone injured or killed in an accident; someone injured or killed or captured or missing in a military engagement

set in collapse: become established; "winter has set in"; enter a particular state; "Laziness set in"; "After a few moments, the effects of the drug kicked in"; blow toward the shore; "That gale could set in on us with the next high tide"

attenuate collapse: reduced in strength; "the faded tones of an old recording"; become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude

predispose collapse: make susceptible; "This illness predisposes you to gain weight"

extenuate collapse: lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime"

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