Sentence:  “She&#39;s experienced a horrific and nasty scare and is in a state of shock, but otherwise she&#39;s relatively okay.” Conrad replied, his tone at first grim (as he recalled what he&#39;d seen in the family room) and then it <WSD>gentled</WSD> to a more doctorial tone as he directed his next comments to his patient. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  to become gentle