1
as in dismissed
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in minimized
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 played down
Rutte confirmed the drawdown but played down its impact.
—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
Claims of an arrangement along those lines have been played down at the Newcastle end.
—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Advertisement New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself a long-suffering Knicks fan who attended a playoff game on May 21, has played down the chances of Gotham City-style meltdown.
—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
27 May 2026
But Rubio played down the issue.
—
Lorne Cook,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2026
But Adcock initially played down expectations by noting that the Figure team was aiming for the robots to work for eight hours straight, whereas a previous Figure demo had lasted just one hour.
—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
20 May 2026
Maresca played down those reports at the time.
—
ABC News,
19 May 2026
The news came as BlackRock and JPMorgan played down fears of an AI bubble.
—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
But what if Landry, who barely played down the stretch last season after injuring his knee in October, can’t get back to 100%?
—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
Claims of an arrangement along those lines have been played down at the Newcastle end.
—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Advertisement New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself a long-suffering Knicks fan who attended a playoff game on May 21, has played down the chances of Gotham City-style meltdown.
—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
27 May 2026
But Rubio played down the issue.
—
Lorne Cook,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2026
But Adcock initially played down expectations by noting that the Figure team was aiming for the robots to work for eight hours straight, whereas a previous Figure demo had lasted just one hour.
—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
20 May 2026
Maresca played down those reports at the time.
—
ABC News,
19 May 2026
The news came as BlackRock and JPMorgan played down fears of an AI bubble.
—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
But what if Landry, who barely played down the stretch last season after injuring his knee in October, can’t get back to 100%?
—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for played down
Verb
-
Johnson is among six people featured by Pam Bondi whose cases have now been dismissed.
-
Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Matthew Fisher and Josh Tongue were dismissed in two double-wicket maidens by Henry.
Verb
-
These behaviors are often minimized as personality quirks or generational differences.
-
Highlight details are more vivid and color bleeding is minimized.
Verb
-
But Kesselring’s role was further diminished when Buffalo acquired defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline in March.
-
Since then, our evenings have been brighter and our melatonin diminished.
Verb
-
Messi downplayed tying the record in a postgame interview.
-
The vice president and other officials have downplayed evidence of collateral damage in their crackdown on fraudulent hospices.
Verb
-
With encouragement from Kincaid, Lee, 49, began by planting small sages that would grow quickly and help prevent erosion, since water, mulch and rain often ran down the hillside to the sidewalk.
-
Diamondbacks center fielder Jorge Barrosa ran down five fly balls by Dodgers hitters.
Verb
-
The contractors talked down to me.
-
Others described feeling they were being talked down to.
Cite this Entry
“Played down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20down. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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