1
as in to dismiss
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to minimize
to reduce in apparent importance
if you play down your part in the project, you won't get the credit you deserve
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of play down
Most large employers play down the likelihood that A.I. bots will take our jobs.
—
Erin Griffith, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Green will need to back up this claim with strong play down the stretch of the season.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025
On Thursday, the village’s public works department was conducting an emergency repair from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., but officials played down the connection between Thursday’s repairs and the burst.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025
Trump played down any environmental concerns Monday.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play down
Erin Griffith, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Green will need to back up this claim with strong play down the stretch of the season.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025
On Thursday, the village’s public works department was conducting an emergency repair from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., but officials played down the connection between Thursday’s repairs and the burst.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025
Trump played down any environmental concerns Monday.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play down
Verb
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At the time, Putin demanded that Ukraine never be allowed into NATO, and that the bloc roll back its military footprint in Eastern and Central Europe – which the US and its allies dismissed as non-starters, condemning the invasion as a blatant land grab.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN,
14 Mar. 2025
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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
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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Overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regulations like the Clean Air Act help minimize the public’s exposure to these industrial emissions.—
Yong Kwon / Made by History,
TIME,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Irregular black patches run down the snakes’ backs.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
7 Mar. 2025
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Over time, water ran down into the building, causing the supporting beams to rot.—
Emily Schwing,
ProPublica,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Interestingly, the Administration is not downplaying the impact of all this uncertainty but rather warning that some short-term pain will be worth the long term gains.—
Michael Lynch,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
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Brunson has always downplayed the minutes discussion when asked.—
James L. Edwards III,
The Athletic,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But Jones has talked down a possible bout with Aspinall and suggested that a battle with current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira made more sense to him.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
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The lack of Blues Brothers co-creator Aykroyd meant no Jimmy Carter talking down a guy peaking on LSD.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 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
Verb
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The intense criticism of the COVID response has left a lingering public distrust in health and diminished their influence.—
Tina Reed,
Axios,
10 Mar. 2025
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The seeming smallness of the story does nothing to diminish the film’s bleakness nor blunt its ultimately devastating impact.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Michael Sheen has written off £1 million ($1.29 million) of debt for 900 people using £100,000 ($129,000) of his own money.—
Lily Ford,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Mar. 2025
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The tech giant paid $7.2 billion to acquire Nokia's devices and services businesses and license its patents and mapping, but wrote off a loss of $7.6 billion in its mobile division less than two years later.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Play down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20down. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
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