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
Kouri's friend Aly Staking said the couple downplayed that episode as Eric having an allergic reaction.
—
Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 May 2026
One player made a scene on the field, vilified police, downplayed crime, wore a Fidel Castro T-shirt in the locker room, disrespected law enforcement and the military, and wore socks depicting cops as pigs during practice.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Levine has previously downplayed his ties to Epstein, but the Herald found emails released in the Epstein Files that indicate his relationship with Maxwell and Epstein went back to at least the early 2000s.
—Shirsho Dasgupta
may 22, Miami Herald, 22 May 2026
Samsung is one of Club name Qnity Electronics’ largest customers, though management downplayed concerns about any significant impact from the strike during last week’s earnings call.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 20 May 2026
Top Republicans have downplayed the possibility of military action in Cuba.
—Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 19 May 2026
By and large, Republicans were also reluctant to weigh in on Netanyahu’s proposal, and several downplayed the impact in interviews with the Washington Examiner.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2026
Bob’s family regularly told him that, of course, but Bob always downplayed it.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 16 May 2026
The same week both citizens were held, administration officials spoke on a panel at a border security conference in Phoenix and downplayed and denied that citizens have been mistakenly detained.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 15 May 2026
Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 May 2026
One player made a scene on the field, vilified police, downplayed crime, wore a Fidel Castro T-shirt in the locker room, disrespected law enforcement and the military, and wore socks depicting cops as pigs during practice.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Levine has previously downplayed his ties to Epstein, but the Herald found emails released in the Epstein Files that indicate his relationship with Maxwell and Epstein went back to at least the early 2000s.
—Shirsho Dasgupta
may 22, Miami Herald, 22 May 2026
Samsung is one of Club name Qnity Electronics’ largest customers, though management downplayed concerns about any significant impact from the strike during last week’s earnings call.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 20 May 2026
Top Republicans have downplayed the possibility of military action in Cuba.
—Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 19 May 2026
By and large, Republicans were also reluctant to weigh in on Netanyahu’s proposal, and several downplayed the impact in interviews with the Washington Examiner.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2026
Bob’s family regularly told him that, of course, but Bob always downplayed it.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 16 May 2026
The same week both citizens were held, administration officials spoke on a panel at a border security conference in Phoenix and downplayed and denied that citizens have been mistakenly detained.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downplayed
Verb
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The team concluded the term more accurately reflects the condition’s endocrine, metabolic and reproductive features while helping reduce misunderstanding for patients who have long felt their diagnosis was minimized.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
19 May 2026
-
The fire was extinguished on the roof, and damage was minimized.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Verb
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The arrest happened after students were dismissed for early release, according to a Plainfield School District Facebook post.—
Allison Kiehl,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
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Among those inside the building was Ozgur Ozel, elected as party chairperson in November 2023 but dismissed by the court ruling.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 May 2026
Verb
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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 26 May. 2026.
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