as in to minimize
to reduce in apparent importance
he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of downplay
But Kennedy also downplayed the safety of the vaccine and wrongly told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that measles outbreaks could be driven in part by people who have waning immunity from the vaccine.
—
Neha Mukherjee, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump downplayed the prospect of a recession days after previously dodging the topic during an interview that added to uncertainty circling Wall Street.
—Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Mar. 2025
Trump administration officials and allies are eager to downplay any economic wobble.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2025
Trump and a top aide have suggested tough conditions, but Cole seemed to downplay adding anything too controversial.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downplay
Neha Mukherjee, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump downplayed the prospect of a recession days after previously dodging the topic during an interview that added to uncertainty circling Wall Street.
—Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Mar. 2025
Trump administration officials and allies are eager to downplay any economic wobble.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2025
Trump and a top aide have suggested tough conditions, but Cole seemed to downplay adding anything too controversial.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downplay
Verb
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Windows users can minimize data collection by adjusting their privacy settings under 'Diagnostics & feedback.' 2.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
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That last category refers to minimizing false positives, which are instances when the antivirus flags a valid program as malicious.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Mearsheimer also dismissed the idea, adding that Russia would take extreme measures to prevent it from happening.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
14 Mar. 2025
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Trump upon taking office dismissed the DOJ employees who worked on his two criminal prosecutions with Smith.—
Erin Doherty,
Axios,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Jean-Baptiste, her mouth set in a tight-lipped frown, her eyes ablaze with fear and loathing, soft-pedals nothing.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2025
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The movie One of the darkest true stories on this list, An American Crime never undersells or soft-pedals the ceaseless agony of Likens’ ordeal.—
Declan Gallagher and Chris Bellamy,
EW.com,
31 Oct. 2024
Articles Related to downplay
Cite this Entry
“Downplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downplay. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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