as in to minimize
to reduce in apparent importance
you're at a point in your career where you can de-emphasize your academic record and emphasize your work experience
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Recent Examples of de-emphasize
The Giants also appear to be de-emphasizing Dart as a runner to keep him healthy, which could lead to him getting a higher volume of passing attempts in Week 15.
—
Jacob Camenker,
USA Today,
14 Dec. 2025
Cyberlink de-emphasizes the automatic, easy movie project tools, instead focusing on serious full-power video editing.
—
PC Magazine,
15 Nov. 2025
The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.
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Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
The base Microsoft 365 subscription itself has become increasingly essential as Microsoft de-emphasizes standalone Office purchases and makes cloud integration more central to document workflows.
—
Kevin Williams,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Jacob Camenker,
USA Today,
14 Dec. 2025
Cyberlink de-emphasizes the automatic, easy movie project tools, instead focusing on serious full-power video editing.
—
PC Magazine,
15 Nov. 2025
The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.
—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
The base Microsoft 365 subscription itself has become increasingly essential as Microsoft de-emphasizes standalone Office purchases and makes cloud integration more central to document workflows.
—
Kevin Williams,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for de-emphasize
Verb
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While the Texatron is designed as an aneutronic fusion system intended to minimize neutron production, the company says monitoring neutron emissions will help verify radiation characteristics and overall system performance.
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This significantly minimizes cybersecurity risks by decreasing the number of outside players that may have access to the data through cloud or hardware infrastructure.
Verb
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That’s not to downplay the severity of the injury, of course, which had lasting effects.
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While the Leafs want to downplay the likelihood of a trade, rival executives believe there’s a move coming here.
Verb
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The firms asked the judge to dismiss the case Wednesday, arguing Uber had failed to prove fraud.
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Delta denied this in its legal response, seeking to dismiss the case.
Verb
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Questlove is too much of a humanist to soft-pedal’s Maurice White’s contradictions.
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Analysts fault Harris and party leaders for soft-pedaling Donald Trump’s felony convictions and other vulnerabilities, arguing Democrats’ rational, low-negative messaging couldn’t compete in an election defined by rage and relentless attack ads.
Cite this Entry
“De-emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-emphasize. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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