Definition of understate
transitive verb
1 : to represent as less than is the case understate taxable income
2 : to state or present with restraint especially for effect
From the M-W Editors
Examples of understate in a Sentence
He understated his taxable income.
She's trying to understate the issue.
Recent Examples of understate from the Web
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Harris says that Campaigne's art of designing both a dramatic yet understated home makes for a perfect backdrop to watch the light change through the trees.
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A sequence late in the film, set in a French hotel room near the front, is both understated and authentically seductive.
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Ohio sued five drug companies this week, accusing them of overstating the benefits of using their prescription painkillers while understating the risks, and thus helping to create the state's addiction and overdose crisis.
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And state polls, in particular, understated Mr. Trump’s support in the decisive Rust Belt region, in part because those surveys did not adjust for the educational composition of the electorate — a key to the 2016 race.
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A key element of the regulation includes a curb, called an output floor, to ensure that big banks don’t understate risks.
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Bhatt's Pip, while perhaps a tad too understated at times, moves through the character's changing circumstances with a palpable and convincing air of self-consciousness.
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The cases alleged that the planning for the projects violated the California Environmental Quality Act by understating the potential noise, air pollution and traffic effects in nearby cities and neighborhoods.
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What’s more, those numbers are probably understated.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'understate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
1824
First Known Use of understate
1824
UNDERSTATE Defined for English Language Learners
understate
playDefinition of understate for English Language Learners
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: to say that (something) is smaller, less important, etc., than it really is
Learn More about understate
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See words that rhyme with understate Spanish Central: Translation of understate Nglish: Translation of understate for Spanish speakers
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