Understate - English meaning

verb

Make or become less.

Usage examples:

The new law is expected to diminish the government's chances

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size or importance

Usage examples:

[ i ] the threat of inflation is diminishing., [ t ] a single-payer system would diminish the burea…

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size, importance, or value

Usage examples:

If consumers start losing confidence, it will diminish demand for household goods., investors can d…

verb

Reduce to a lower grade, rank, or level of importance.

Usage examples:

Some jobs had gradually been downgraded from skilled to semi-skilled

noun

An instance of reducing someone or something's rank, status, or level of importance.

Usage examples:

Downgrades by debt-rating agencies outnumber upgrades by five to one

verb

To reduce someone or something to a lower rank or position; to make less important or less valued

Usage examples:

They threatened to downgrade my credit rating if i don’t pay the bill immediately.

verb

Make (something) appear less important than it really is.

Usage examples:

This report downplays the seriousness of global warming

verb

Make or become less; diminish.

Usage examples:

The years have lessened the gap in age between us

verb

To become or make something smaller in amount or degree

Usage examples:

[ t ] keeping your weight down can lessen the risk of heart disease.

verb

To make something smaller, less noticeable, etc., or to become smaller, less noticeable, etc.

Usage examples:

Corporate executives are keen to embrace "green technology" in order to lessen their dependence on …

verb

Reduce (something, especially something undesirable) to the smallest possible amount or degree.

Usage examples:

The aim is to minimize costs

verb

To reduce something to the smallest possible level or amount

Usage examples:

We do all that we can to minimize the risk of infection., he minimized his involvement in the scand…

verb

To reduce something to the smallest possible level or amount

Usage examples:

We rented an office in the cheap part of town to minimize costs., you should spread your investment…

phrase

Understate the importance or quality of

phrasal verb

Represent something as being less important than it in fact is.

Usage examples:

He tried to play down the seriousness of his illness

phrasal verb

To make something seem less important than or not as bad as it really is

Usage examples:

The doctor tried to play down the seriousness of my father’s illness, but we weren’t fooled.

verb

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

The need for businesses to reduce costs

verb

Make smaller

verb

To make something less in size, amount, degree, importance, or price

Usage examples:

A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease., grunn employs 17,900 people, but that number …

verb

Make (something) seem less important, significant, or complex than it really is.

Usage examples:

The problem was either trivialized or ignored by teachers

verb

To make something unusual seem ordinary or unimportant

Usage examples:

My boss tends to take good ideas and trivialize them.

verb

Place insufficient emphasis on.

Usage examples:

History is underemphasized in the curriculum

verb

Perform (something) in a restrained way.

Usage examples:

The violins underplayed the romantic element in the music

verb

To make something such as a dangerous situation seem less important or dangerous than it really is

Usage examples:

While not wanting to underplay the seriousness of the situation, i have to say that it is not as ba…

verb

Underestimate the extent, value, or importance of (someone or something).

Usage examples:

They vastly underrate their own players

verb

To fail to recognize the importance, value, skill, power, etc., of someone or something

Usage examples:

Never underrate your opponent in a political contest.