1
as in dismissing
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 minimizing
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 playing down
Their forward depth with (Nikolaj) Ehlers playing down the lineup has been a huge strength.
—
Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 1 June 2026
But after his early doom-laden predictions, Altman may now be an outlier among industry leaders in playing down the impact on work.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 26 May 2026
The azul and chrome won the round of 16 opener 3-2 at Snapdragon Stadium, holding on despite playing down one man for the most of the match and down two men for the final minutes of regulation and all of stoppage time.
—Apress, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
After a week of playing down to – and then slightly lower than – their last-place opponents, the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 9-0 victory on Wednesday night.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
There’s usually a physical requirement, as well as severely playing down the high-wattage glamor that got you on red carpets in the first place.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025
The Chiefs know something about playing down a man or two at the position.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2025
Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 1 June 2026
But after his early doom-laden predictions, Altman may now be an outlier among industry leaders in playing down the impact on work.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 26 May 2026
The azul and chrome won the round of 16 opener 3-2 at Snapdragon Stadium, holding on despite playing down one man for the most of the match and down two men for the final minutes of regulation and all of stoppage time.
—Apress, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
After a week of playing down to – and then slightly lower than – their last-place opponents, the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 9-0 victory on Wednesday night.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
There’s usually a physical requirement, as well as severely playing down the high-wattage glamor that got you on red carpets in the first place.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025
The Chiefs know something about playing down a man or two at the position.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing down
Verb
-
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
-
Democrats criticized Republicans for dismissing attempts at meaningful reform.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
In left field, Taylor kept the Reds from going ahead by running down a fly ball near the line and throwing out a baserunner at home plate.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 June 2026
-
For a young man who had scarcely left Utah in his youth, every corner seemed to be a revelation, of water buffalo shimmering from mud baths and children running down dirt roads.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Politicos everywhere are talking down Johnson’s chances.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
-
During his remarks, Beshear accused Vance, whose memoir explores issues such as poverty and the lack of opportunity in Appalachia and the Rust Belt, of talking down to the people of Kentucky.—
Hannah Demissie,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The delay also would push the removal into the middle of the night, diminishing the audience watching the event in person or on TV.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
12 June 2026
-
Once the scene resurfaced online some ten years later, internet users leveraged the phrase as a way to distinguish those who were musically superior (who had the range) and those who were not, diminishing them regardless of their popularity.—
Dr. Marcus Collins,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
No one was writing off Raman anymore.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
-
Forsaking clay, if only in terms of expectations, means writing off a little more than 20 percent of the season, a quarter of the Grand Slams and, for now, a third of the most important ATP tournaments, the Masters 1000s.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Playing down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playing%20down. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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