To stir up or excite; to rouse or goad into action.
To attempt to persuade someone about (something) through understatement, so that the listener accepts the good points as obvious.
To reduce the force or impact of (something); to damp, to mute; especially, to minimize the less desirable aspects of (something); to play down, to tone down.
To reduce the volume of (music, a sound, etc.).
Chiefly followed by on: to act in a less assertive or forceful manner.