1
as in to dismiss
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to minimize
to reduce in apparent importance
if you play down your part in the project, you won't get the credit you deserve
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of play down
Crean Lutheran senior guard Nick Giarusso made the big plays down the stretch to help the Saints beat the Lions, 59-52, at Toyota Arena.
—
Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 1 Mar. 2026
But with the game on the line, TCU’s Olivia Miles took control with multiple highlight plays down the stretch to clinch the game.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2026
Using his Instagram broadcast channel, the Mexican musician played down the lyric that references him.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played down the violence as the work of a small group of extremists.
—Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for play down
Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 1 Mar. 2026
But with the game on the line, TCU’s Olivia Miles took control with multiple highlight plays down the stretch to clinch the game.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2026
Using his Instagram broadcast channel, the Mexican musician played down the lyric that references him.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played down the violence as the work of a small group of extremists.
—Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for play down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play down
Verb
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However, these picture-perfect images are often dismissed as advertisements that ignore the far less glamorous issues in the destination, including human rights abuses.—
Tamara Hardingham-Gill,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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Prosecutors dismissed doxxing charges in the Baldwin Park case after a Homeland Security investigator told the court the address that protesters shouted on the livestream was a few houses away from where Reyes lived.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights remain unlit, minimizing the chance of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Mar. 2026
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By minimizing these internal losses, the motor can maintain higher efficiency across a wide range of operating conditions.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In banked slalom, athletes get two individual runs down the course with their best time counting toward the final ranking.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
During pregnancy, the two vertical muscles running down the front of your abdomen, the rectus abdominis muscles, must stretch to accommodate your growing baby.—
Jennifer Byrne,
Popular Science,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Fernandez also downplayed his team being in South Florida for most of the week.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2026
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Yet the handpicked chair of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has downplayed the importance of the vaccine for measles, as well as for polio and other highly contagious, deadly diseases.—
Jerome Adams,
Fortune,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Mayor Johnson took the hosts of the JAAM Podcast —JJ, Allen, Abee and Matt, a group of friends from Chicago who talk about politics and culture — to walk and talk down the streets of the city's Austin neighborhood.—
Mikayla Price,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
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Misfits is a great example of a show for a teenage audience that respects its demographic rather than talking down to them.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Whatever your preconceived notions about Feldman are, Hume’s film will expand and challenge them; the movie’s greatness lies in its ability to capture all of Feldman’s contradictions and self-destructiveness, empathizing with him without soft-pedaling his sins.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
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But a communications strategy designed to soft-pedal radioactive contamination of food won’t make America healthy.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After a decade of dramatic growth, homelessness programs now face a period of diminishing resources.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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Advocates say that level of disenrollment will sharply diminish the state’s health care system as a whole, by robbing hospitals and clinics of revenue.—
Andrew Graham
March 9,
Sacbee.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This is also a place where appearances can be deceptive, so don’t write off a listing just because the house seems unremarkable in online photos.—
Zoey Goto,
Vogue,
9 Mar. 2026
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From the outside, LaNasa’s success could simply be written off as good luck or the result of hard work and talent.—
Sam Reed,
Glamour,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Play down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20down. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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