downplay
verb
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Definition of downplay
Examples of downplay in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But at least one big steel user sought to downplay the danger. — Joseph N. Distefano, Philly.com, "Investors discount tariff threats as U.S. economy surges under Trump," 1 June 2018 Facebook has sought to downplay the damage caused by these ads, often emphasizing that the IRA spent just $100,000 on them, compared to the nearly $40 billion in ad revenue the company brought in in 2017. — Issie Lapowsky, WIRED, "House Democrats Release 3,300 Russia-Linked Facebook Ads," 10 May 2018 The president at first sought to downplay the disaster, then suggested Puerto Ricans were doing too little to help themselves. — The Economist, "America has let down its Puerto Rican citizens," 12 Apr. 2018 Speculation Blamed Officials from Rouhani to central bank Governor Valiollah Seif have in recent weeks sought to downplay the depreciation of the rial and portray it as temporary. — Ladane Nasseri, Bloomberg.com, "Iran Targets Currency Exchanges Amid Efforts to Halt Rial Slide," 14 Feb. 2018 Paul also downplayed the significance of James playing in the entertainment capital of the world. — Matt Eppers, USA TODAY, "LeBron James' agent Rich Paul calls move to LA Lakers 'a basketball decision'," 12 July 2018 Monica was quick to downplay any rivalry, complimenting Brandy on her performance. — Nicole Sands, PEOPLE.com, "The Song Is Hers: Did Brandy Shade Monica with Sassy New 'The Boy Is Mine' Lyric?," 9 July 2018 Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk also downplayed concerns that improving relations between China and North Korea could result in loosened Chinese sanctions against North Korea. — Christopher Bodeen And Dake Kang, The Christian Science Monitor, "China hopes to see progress on US-North Korea summit agreements," 19 June 2018 Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk also downplayed concerns that improving relations between China and North Korea could result in loosened Chinese sanctions against North Korea. — Christopher Bodeen And Dake Kang, chicagotribune.com, "North Korea's Kim visits China in follow-up to Trump summit," 19 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'downplay.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for downplay
downplay
verb
English Language Learners Definition of downplay
: to make (something) seem smaller or less important
See the full definition for downplay in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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