downplay
To de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequentialTo de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequential.
» She often likes to downplay her achievements.
Meaning
1 sensesTo de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequential.
herunterspielen, verharmlosen, kleinreden
преуменьша́тьpreumenʹšátʹ
приме́ншуватиpryménšuvaty, приме́ншитиpryménšyty
represent as less significant or important
Examples
8 sentencesShe often likes to downplay her achievements.
I'm not trying to downplay this at all.
Not to downplay the situation, but could he be joking?
Boris tried to downplay the situation as much as possible.
Laura may be a prodigy, but she is known to downplay her failures.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Synthetic form of the phrase play down. By surface analysis, down- + play.Synthetic form of the phrase play down. By surface analysis, down- + play.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
downplays, downplaying, downplayed, downplayed| Base form | downplay · to downplay |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | downplays |
| Present participle | downplaying |
| Past simple | downplayed |
| Past participle | downplayed |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
26 synonyms- understate the importance or quality of:backgroundplay down
- represent as less significant or important:understateminimizeminimise
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle