PLAYING DOWN Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

playing down

verb

present participle of play down

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

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of playing down The game was in the 112th minute when Alvarez scored, a testimony to Switzerland’s outstanding defense, playing down a man since the 72nd minute. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026 The host nation won comfortably despite playing down a man from the 64th minute on. — Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026 Senegal has pressured Iraq, which is again playing down a man, but hasn't had many quality chances on net. — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 27 June 2026 Ohtani was out of the lineup for the series opener against the Orioles, but the Dodgers did not opt to put him on the paternity list, temporarily playing down a player instead. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing down

Verb

Sunday’s final will be his sixth World Cup match in total and first since dismissing Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie for covering his mouth while confronting Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez in the round of 32.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
In response, eBay's board wasted little time in dismissing the proposal.

— Mark Faithfull, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of dismissing

Verb

Autonomous ocean mining The Eureka Collection System is an autonomous underwater mining platform designed to selectively harvest polymetallic nodules from the deep ocean while minimizing environmental impact.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 July 2026
Operating in a 24/7/365 retail environment meant that minimizing business disruption was critical.

— Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 15 July 2026

Definition of minimizing

Verb

Burke touted a system of elevated guideways running down many of Los Angeles’ major roads, above auto traffic.

— Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Cleveland Guardians first baseman Ralphy Velazquez played the whole game and finally got a hit in his last at-bat, getting to a slider running down-and-in but still in the strike zone for a single to left.

— Keith Law, New York Times, 12 July 2026

Definition of running down

Verb

In a daring high-wire act high above the East River, fearless NYPD cops spent nearly an hour on a span of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge talking down a woman desperately threatening to jump.

— Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026
Politicos everywhere are talking down Johnson’s chances.

— Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026

Definition of talking down

Verb

Weakening high pressure to our east is slowly reducing scorching hot temperatures from earlier this week and diminishing the monsoonal moisture that provided unseasonable rain showers and thunderstorms.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026
In Miami-Dade, the transit system faces financial woes Aside from diminishing Miami-Dade’s transit ambitions, the Levine Cava plan also highlights the dire financial picture facing mass transit in the county.

— Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026

Definition of diminishing

Verb

But as his brace against Uzbekistan showed, writing off Ronaldo remains a dangerous mistake.

— Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
So, before writing off a sluggish job candidate search as a market issue, take a hard look at the listing itself, from the title to the requirements, the compensation and the hiring process.

— Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 23 June 2026