PLAYS DOWN Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

plays down

verb

present tense third-person singular of play down

as in dismisses

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

as in minimizes

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 plays down Wang plays down the potential for renegade robots to wreak havoc. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 July 2026 Even for the Kremlin, which often plays down painful setbacks, the stark reality has become hard to sidestep. — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 29 June 2026 Rhy made some huge plays down the stretch. — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 10 June 2026 But Edwards led the way with a big 16-point fourth quarter, and the Timberwolves made the key plays down the stretch. — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 11 May 2026 But, powered by veteran guard CJ McCollum and some gutsy defensive plays down the stretch, the Hawks won 107-106 to even the series at one game apiece. — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 21 Apr. 2026 The Hornets played great and made those plays down the stretch. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026 Santos, who scored a career-high 31 points in the Warriors win over Brooklyn on Wednesday, made several big plays down the stretch. — ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026 Valanciunas is slow-footed and plays down the floor in pick-and-roll coverage, leaving the Nuggets more vulnerable to pick-and-pop bigs and other ripple effects of their help rotations around the floor. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plays down

Verb

Warsh, conversely, advocates for the Fed to be more opaque, a strategy the author dismisses as misguided.

— John Tamny, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
One automatically ascribes fraud to results that are often predictable, even routine; the other dismisses legitimate concerns as conspiracy theories.

— Andrew E. Busch, The Conversation, 23 July 2026

Definition of dismisses

Verb

Co-locating energy-intensive facilities near the generation source minimizes these long-distance delivery losses.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Aug. 2026
But some fans fear the introduction of an award defined by geography minimizes the value of artists’ work.

— Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 29 July 2026

Definition of minimizes

Verb

In her role as well as elsewhere, Kalle downplays the explicit homophobia that might have rendered this a more simplistic allegory, making Asla less a figure of interfering jealousy than a woman who simply doesn’t want to be abandoned yet again.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 July 2026
Miller also downplays concerns about competition with the Jaguar Type 01, highlighting the GT's greater versatility fcompared to Jaguar's more design-focused, less practical offering.

— James Morris, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026