allow for, baffle, choke, color, cushion, cut short, damp, dampen, damper, deaden, deafen, diminish, dull, dumbfound, ease, extenuate, gag, gloss over, hush, ignore, lessen, make allowance for, mince, mitigate, muffle, muffler, mute, muzzle, palliate, play down, quiet, shush, shut down, shut up, silence, silencer, slur over, soften, soundproofing, squash, squelch, stifle, still, stop, subdue, throttle, tone, tone down, varnish, whitewash