play down

verb

played down; playing down; plays down

transitive verb

: to attach little importance to : minimize

Synonyms

• bad-mouth
• belittle
• cry down
• decry
• denigrate
• deprecate
• depreciate
• derogate
• diminish
• dis [slang]
• diss
• discount
• dismiss
• disparage
• kiss off
• minimize
• poor-mouth
• put down
• run down
• talk down
• trash
• trash-talk
• vilipend
• write off

Examples of play down in a Sentence

out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments

if you play down your part in the project, you won't get the credit you deserve

Recent Examples on the Web

His running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), also has espoused far-right talking points, playing down the seriousness of the Capitol attack and using replacement theory language in statements about immigration. —Patrick Marley, Washington Post, 20 July 2024

But Chinese authorities have been keen to play down any suggestion that these attacks specifically targeted foreigners. —Jessie Yeung, CNN, 17 July 2024

Initially Musk played down the report, claiming that Reuters was not telling the truth. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 16 July 2024

Evers and Welliver are both from Flower Mound, Texas, though the former, two years ahead, played at Flower Mound High and Welliver played down the road at Marcus High before transferring to Liberty Christian, where he was coached by Dallas Cowboys legend Jason Witten. —Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 1 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

play down

verb

: to attach little importance to : minimize