underrate

verb

un·​der·​rate ˌən-dər-ˈrāt 

ˌən-də-

underrated; underrating; underrates

transitive verb

: to rate or value (something or someone) too low : undervalue

His off-the-cuff improvisations, his airy tendency to throw out half-baked ideas, caused others to underrate his continuity of purpose …

—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

As I watched the film for the first time …, it seemed to me that its effect was to exploit innocence and violence in ways that overrate the power of the first and underrate the complexity of the second …

—Vincent Canby

see also underrated

Synonyms

• underestimate
• undervalue

Examples of underrate in a Sentence

She underrated her student's ability.

it's perhaps the most underrated film of the last decade

Recent Examples on the Web

Within that roster of 150 species, there are several that are underrated by hunters—and worth learning about. —Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 12 Sep. 2024

This is a strikingly original horror flick that has been largely underrated. —Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 4 June 2024

But figuring out which parks are underrated, with low visitor counts and high ratings, requires a bit more data. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 19 July 2024

Read: Why quitting is underrated Waiting for the Weekend, by Witold Rybczynski This charming history of leisure time is also, in a roundabout way, a meditation on work and its purpose. —Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

underrate

verb

un·​der·​rate ˌən-də(r)-ˈrāt 

: to rate too low : undervalue