downplayed

verb

past tense of downplay
as in minimized
to reduce in apparent importance he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of downplayed The Ravens, however, have consistently supported Loop and downplayed the need to bring in another kicker. — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026 Phuel founder and long-time CEO Garret Rock downplayed his current involvement in the company this week and declined to provide information on its current leadership. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 14 Aug. 2026 But the American Civil Liberties Union, a long-standing Flock critic, downplayed the new changes as minor. — Kevin Collier, NBC news, 13 Aug. 2026 In his first public comments on the operation, the president downplayed the risks to officials and journalists who remained on Air Force One for the flight from Turkey. — Victoria Craw, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2026 Unlike other successful launches, the incident appears to have been downplayed on China’s state media with scant mention of the explosion. — Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 Myocarditis was ignored, downplayed, or ultimately dismissed. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026 Fever head coach, Stephanie White, downplayed the scary collision. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026 And while Trump has publicly downplayed reports of a weapons shortage, the issue is on his mind. — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downplayed
  1. minimized
  2. dismissed
  3. de-emphasized
  4. soft-pedaled
Verb
  • The buffers that have minimized the disruption so far will hold for only so long and must be reinforced if the world is to endure future shocks.
    — Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Without getting into specifics, Robins minimized the potential impact of the CFTC’s rules on DraftKings’ market making business in an interview with Sportico on Friday morning.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of minimized
Verb
  • But the fate of Mangione’s state case, set to go to trial next month, now hangs in the balance as his attorneys seek to get second-degree murder and weapons charges dismissed over double jeopardy protections.
    — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
  • All six defendants initially faced torture charges that were dismissed.
    — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of dismissed
Verb
  • Our tactile and sensory life has been de-emphasized in favor of ideas, symbols, accomplishments, and abstractions.
    — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 16 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of de-emphasized
Verb
  • 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
Definition of soft-pedaled

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downplay
downplayed
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Cite this Entry

“Downplayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downplayed. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of downplayed for Spanish Speakers

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