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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Effective vole control includes keeping grass mowed, minimizing mulch, using traps, and protecting young trees with hardware cloth tubes.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2026
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For as long as medicine has been practiced, women’s health concerns have been minimized, misdiagnosed or dismissed.—
Dr. Sanjay Gupta,
CNN Money,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To locals, Soviet leaders seemed to be downplaying the severity of the explosion.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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DeCosta downplayed the focus on size and said the team’s personnel staff is always looking for different types of players.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As part of her agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors will dismiss four felony counts of perjury, procurement or false or forged document to be filed, and two counts of not being entitled to vote in an election.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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Though often dismissed as bubblegum soul, the early Jackson 5 hits were intricate and infectious.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This loud-and-proud version of Sonny certainly feels progressive, but in a different way it soft-pedals Sonny’s complications.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“De-emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-emphasize. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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