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 Gates Foundation, like other corporations and institutions, has taken steps to de-emphasize its D.E.I. work.
—
Theodore Schleifer, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.
—Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
But she was frustrated by the gallery’s refusal to show her drawings, which would have de-emphasized her image as a sculptor.
—Hilarie M. Sheets, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S is the second-straight generation of Xbox hardware with falling sales, according to analysts, and the company’s leadership has de-emphasized its consoles in favor of promoting a message that gamers can play Xbox games on phones, smart TVs, VR headsets and other hardware.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Theodore Schleifer, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.
—Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
But she was frustrated by the gallery’s refusal to show her drawings, which would have de-emphasized her image as a sculptor.
—Hilarie M. Sheets, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S is the second-straight generation of Xbox hardware with falling sales, according to analysts, and the company’s leadership has de-emphasized its consoles in favor of promoting a message that gamers can play Xbox games on phones, smart TVs, VR headsets and other hardware.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for de-emphasize
Verb
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Here are some strategies for carving up a large restaurant bill to minimize stress on wait staff and prevent fights among tablemates.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
25 June 2025
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Specifically, their proprietary algorithms forecast store and product sales across millions of SKUs and diverse product lines to maximize inventory turns, minimize overstock and, importantly, drive sales.—
Noah Barsky,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Verb
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Drug ads often downplay the risks, leading to uninformed decisions.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 June 2025
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President Donald Trump downplayed any divisions within the MAGA movement over potential U.S. strikes on Iran.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Verb
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The decision dismissed most claims in the lawsuit filed by authors who alleged that their books were used, without permission, to train Anthropic’s Claude AI models.—
Tor Constantino,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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The Post, like much of New York city’s establishment, was already dismissing Mamdani as too extreme to win in the Democratic mayoral primary.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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In 2024, Paul Weiss didn’t soft-pedal its liberal leanings.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
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Goldberg Tuesday scoffed at the denials and efforts to soft-pedal the extent and potential danger of the breach.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“De-emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-emphasize. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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