as in minimizing
to reduce in apparent importance
he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success
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Recent Examples of downplaying
Fifield fired back at the New York Times in an X post on Friday for downplaying the story.
—
Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2026
Nilsson, an incorrigible Midwesterner, had a history of downplaying her depth.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett painted a rosy picture of the economy Sunday, downplaying Americans' growing pessimism about the economy amid high gas prices and rising inflation as the Iran war goes on.
—Ford McCracken, ABC News, 31 May 2026
Koepele has a business interest in downplaying the danger in New York waters.
—Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2026
Draper accused Baker of downplaying troll behavior.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
Ariniello also made headlines for downplaying a watchdog report released by the Boston Policy Institute that found the city was facing a more than $1 billion budget shortfall due to empty office buildings and falling values over the next five years.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 26 May 2026
Some in Israel accuse United Nations observers and human rights groups of downplaying the issue.
—Matt Bradley, NBC news, 14 May 2026
As Starlink gains traction as a potential disruptor to traditional ISPs, Verizon’s CEO is downplaying the threat, predicting that satellite rivals SpaceX and Amazon will remain niche internet providers in the US.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 14 May 2026
Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2026
Nilsson, an incorrigible Midwesterner, had a history of downplaying her depth.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett painted a rosy picture of the economy Sunday, downplaying Americans' growing pessimism about the economy amid high gas prices and rising inflation as the Iran war goes on.
—Ford McCracken, ABC News, 31 May 2026
Koepele has a business interest in downplaying the danger in New York waters.
—Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2026
Draper accused Baker of downplaying troll behavior.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
Ariniello also made headlines for downplaying a watchdog report released by the Boston Policy Institute that found the city was facing a more than $1 billion budget shortfall due to empty office buildings and falling values over the next five years.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 26 May 2026
Some in Israel accuse United Nations observers and human rights groups of downplaying the issue.
—Matt Bradley, NBC news, 14 May 2026
As Starlink gains traction as a potential disruptor to traditional ISPs, Verizon’s CEO is downplaying the threat, predicting that satellite rivals SpaceX and Amazon will remain niche internet providers in the US.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downplaying
Verb
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Three-dimensional tracking of meteors is a game changer, allowing scientists to pinpoint landing sites and retrieve meteorites rapidly after impact, minimizing contamination from our terrestrial environment.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
12 June 2026
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Each head has its own wiper and pad for the nozzle to sit on, minimizing oozing between swaps.—
Michael Lydick,
PC Magazine,
10 June 2026
Verb
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As the media fixates on the digital natives known as Gen Z and Gen Alpha — often dismissing them as antisocial and entitled members of society — Saturday’s celebration showed that younger generations might actually have it all under control.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
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Democrats criticized Republicans for dismissing attempts at meaningful reform.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Downplaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downplaying. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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