as in minimized
to reduce in apparent importance
he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success
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Recent Examples of downplayed
The president again downplayed the higher cost of oil on Friday.
—
Arsalan Shahla, Fortune, 7 June 2026
Wembanyama finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in the loss but downplayed any worries about the team’s struggles after the game.
—Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 4 June 2026
While the crackdown has revived concerns over foreign access to Chinese markets, analysts broadly downplayed the impact on global investors and liquidity.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 2 June 2026
Fever star Caitlin Clark and coach Stephanie White both downplayed that viral argument during a timeout Saturday.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 2 June 2026
The company has also actively downplayed dangerous errors, the suit said.
—ABC News, 1 June 2026
The company has also actively downplayed dangerous errors, the lawsuit said.
—David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 1 June 2026
Graham later apologized, and Brown and Hurts downplayed them.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 1 June 2026
Asked about arms sales to Taiwan, Hegseth downplayed concerns that a multi-billion-dollar package could be affected as the United States draws down its weapons stockpiles amid the Middle East conflict.
—Reuters, NBC news, 30 May 2026
Arsalan Shahla, Fortune, 7 June 2026
Wembanyama finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in the loss but downplayed any worries about the team’s struggles after the game.
—Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 4 June 2026
While the crackdown has revived concerns over foreign access to Chinese markets, analysts broadly downplayed the impact on global investors and liquidity.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 2 June 2026
Fever star Caitlin Clark and coach Stephanie White both downplayed that viral argument during a timeout Saturday.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 2 June 2026
The company has also actively downplayed dangerous errors, the suit said.
—ABC News, 1 June 2026
The company has also actively downplayed dangerous errors, the lawsuit said.
—David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 1 June 2026
Graham later apologized, and Brown and Hurts downplayed them.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 1 June 2026
Asked about arms sales to Taiwan, Hegseth downplayed concerns that a multi-billion-dollar package could be affected as the United States draws down its weapons stockpiles amid the Middle East conflict.
—Reuters, NBC news, 30 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downplayed
Verb
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Starry is propelled by my real and personal anger that these women’s contributions to the genre have been minimized or elided altogether.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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When speaking to Popcast, Levinson also defended the sexualization of the series, explained why some of the storylines ended up mirroring real life, and why some characters were minimized.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
Verb
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The novel was initially ignored, and then—after Graham Greene called it one of the best books of the year—dismissed, and then banned, first in the UK and then in France.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
Resuming on 55-5 and requiring 254 for an unlikely win, New Zealand lost its remaining five wickets inside the first two hours of play and was dismissed for 138.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
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
Verb
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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
“Downplayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downplayed. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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