Definition of downplay
transitive verb
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Examples of downplay in a Sentence
Athletes often downplay their injuries.
he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success
Recent Examples of downplay from the Web
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That’s an idea Toomey downplayed just a couple weeks ago.
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More: Congressional Republicans deflect, dodge and downplay Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian attorney More: Donald Trump Jr. reveals emails promising ‘
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The story is messy and depressing as hell, but there was a lot of evidence to suggest the school significantly downplayed what happened and possibly discriminated against the victims.
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In media appearances, Aubier has often made statements at odds with the scientific mainstream that appeared to downplay the risks of air pollution.
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Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, under fire from a lot of fellow Democrats, downplaying this week’s losses as well as special election defeats earlier this year in Montana and Kansas.
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Free for all: Bulls management downplayed expectations for big spending in free agency in April, even before news broke late Wednesday that next season's salary cap will be $2 million less than projected.
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After Marston’s death in 1947, Wonder Woman passed into the hands of other creators, who have tended to downplay or ignore his ideas about female superiority and bondage.
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Preckwinkle downplayed that issue, noting that many left her administration to take advantage of new opportunities.
These 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.
First Known Use of downplay
1954
DOWNPLAY Defined for English Language Learners
downplay
playDefinition of downplay for English Language Learners
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: to make (something) seem smaller or less important
Learn More about downplay
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See words that rhyme with downplay Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for downplay Spanish Central: Translation of downplay Nglish: Translation of downplay for Spanish speakers
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