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 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
To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
Atmos Rewards functions as a third front door to Alaska/Hawaiian, intentionally de-emphasizing airline branding to enable expansion across the broader travel ribbon.
—Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
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
To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
Atmos Rewards functions as a third front door to Alaska/Hawaiian, intentionally de-emphasizing airline branding to enable expansion across the broader travel ribbon.
—Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for de-emphasize
Verb
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Too often, the contributions of African Americans have been minimized, misrepresented, or erased altogether.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
1 Feb. 2026
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To minimize or avoid the vulnerability at the heart of human interaction is to represent a limitation of experience, an insistence that all organic exchange is little more than pollution.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Musk, who serves as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has for years downplayed his connection to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody.—
Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
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During that same 2021 interview, Rieder downplayed inflation concerns bubbling up at the time.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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However, a White House official dismissed speculation.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
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Continue reading … LEGAL LOOPHOLE – Luigi Mangione returns to court as judge weighs defense motion to dismiss death penalty charge.—
,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Whatever your preconceived notions about Feldman are, Hume’s film will expand and challenge them; the movie’s greatness lies in its ability to capture all of Feldman’s contradictions and self-destructiveness, empathizing with him without soft-pedaling his sins.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
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In fact, several of the investigators believed the shooting was intentional, and that the Biden administration had actually soft-pedaled the investigation’s findings to appease Israel.—
Scott Griffen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“De-emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-emphasize. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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