amortiguar

to cushion

to muffle

amortiguar(ah-mohr-tee-gwahr)

transitive verb

1. (to reduce the effect of)

a. to cushion

Me resbalé en la escalera de mano pero, por suerte, el césped amortiguó mi caída.

I slipped from the ladder, but, luckily, the grass cushioned my fall.

Las rodilleras le ayudaron a amortiguar el golpe cuando Felipe se cayó de la patineta.

The knee pads helped cushion the blow when Felipe fell off his skateboard.

b. to absorb

El muro hecho de neumáticos amortiguó el impacto del kart.

The tire wall absorbed the impact of the go-kart.

c. to soften

Los airbags amortiguaron el impacto del choque contra el árbol.

The airbags softened the impact of crashing into the tree.

2. (to make less intense)

a. to muffle (sound)

Las paredes de la sala de ensayo amortiguan la música.

The walls of the rehearsal room muffle the music.

b. to dim (light)

Ernesto amortiguó las luces para crear un ambiente más íntimo.

Ernesto dimmed the lights to create a more intimate atmosphere.

c. to tone down (color)

Añade agua a la acuarela azul para amortiguarla.

Add water to the blue watercolor to tone it down.

d. to alleviate (pain)

La medicina que tomé no amortiguó el dolor.

The medicine I took didn't alleviate the pain.

amortiguarse

pronominal verb

3. (to diminish)

a. to die down (sound)

Los aplausos se amortiguaron y el orador comenzó a dar su presentación.

The applause died down and the speaker began his presentation.

b. to grow dim (light)

La luz del sol se amortiguó y cayó la noche.

The sunlight grew dim and night fell.