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 Yet, the complaint says, both downplayed their firsthand knowledge of the laptop or involvement in investigations during 2023 congressional testimony. — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026 Cuomo downplayed the wave of objections, framing the pushback as a predictable reaction to a major market shift. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026 Goodell downplayed the role that international travel may have had in the situation. — CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 Meta downplayed the severity of the vulnerability on the grounds that exploitation wasn’t possible unless a device was already compromised. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026 Trump publicly downplayed this interference, but DHS leadership saw the Russia attack as an escalation. — Andy Mannix, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2026 During the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin downplayed sideline feuds that are sometimes seen during an NFL game. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly downplayed settler violence, tried to cast doubt on the attack. — Dana Karni, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 The president downplayed the criticism within his party over the agreement, which would supply the United States and global marketplaces with diesel equivalent to only a little more than one day of global demand. — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downplayed
  1. minimized
  2. dismissed
  3. de-emphasized
  4. soft-pedaled
Verb
  • Whether intentional or unintentional, the creation of new space debris by future space missions must be minimized as much as possible.
    — David Zamora, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Forests may occasionally have to be sacrificed for economic development, said Tuan Vo of Can Tho University, but the damage should be minimized by consulting experts and understanding how changes could affect river flows.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of minimized
Verb
  • The North has denied responsibility for the incident and dismissed Seoul's demand to apologize and remove its remaining mines.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Three weeks before the election, the chairman of Israel’s Central Elections Committee dismissed the case, but the AID Coalition agreed not to buy more blocks on additional flights.
    — Daniel Brook, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 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

Browse Nearby Words

downplay
downplayed
downplaying
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Cite this Entry

“Downplayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downplayed. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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