1
as in to understate
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Recent Examples of underplay
By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.
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Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
To describe the United States’ military interventions as mishandled, for example, is to criminally underplay their impact.
—Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2020
And David Rosenberg subtly underplays Alex, an American ex-pat who’s haunted by ghosts of his own.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
Mainstream economists, however, believe Trump may be underplaying how damaging his policies could be.
—David Goldman, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underplay
Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
To describe the United States’ military interventions as mishandled, for example, is to criminally underplay their impact.
—Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2020
And David Rosenberg subtly underplays Alex, an American ex-pat who’s haunted by ghosts of his own.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
Mainstream economists, however, believe Trump may be underplaying how damaging his policies could be.
—David Goldman, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underplay
Verb
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Along the way, commentators have scuttled important details, understating or overstating the movement's potential spoils and perils.—
Jerel Ezell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
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In place of royal blues and hot pinks are understated denim blue, rich burgundy, and light-catching gold.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But overplaying concerns about pesticides or additives does little more than discredit the food system writ large and suggest women find other solutions that may not be as feasible, affordable, or even safe.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
10 June 2025
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An optimistic view of the confrontation would be that both sides responded with appropriate and measured retaliation without overplaying their hands.—
AQIL SHAH,
Foreign Affairs,
23 May 2025
Verb
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Just days before three Republican governors deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., Gov. Mike Kehoe downplayed the possibility of Missouri joining President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
18 Aug. 2025
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Throughout the war, state-run media have aggrandized Russian wins on the battlefield, while downplaying or ignoring news to the contrary.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Congress enacted these subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure people had health insurance.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
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Some updates are needed Much has changed in the decades since Congress wrote the law, but Congress has not enacted updates to keep up.—
Anna Kirkland,
The Conversation,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The college student performers from the Hartt School aren’t encouraged to overact during the party scene anymore — no more drunk jokes or pratfalls.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Dec. 2024
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One could easily be accused of overacting, of doing too much.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors argued the brothers acted out of greed, resorting to murder to get their multimillion-dollar inheritances before being cut out of their parents’ will.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
21 Aug. 2025
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Going back to the basics—and sticking with them—can help reduce anxiety and the desire to act out of impulsivity.—
Christopher Steward,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Created by This Is Us writer-producer K.J. Steinberg, the eight-part mini series dramatizes the controversial case and the media circus that followed the American exchange student, who was twice convicted and twice acquitted.—
Danielle Directo-Meston,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Aug. 2025
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Year: 1995 Runtime: 2h 8m Lee’s attempt to both dramatize the effects (and causes) of African-American crime also tries to double as a thriller.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But for some, the consequences of AI signal a systemic, dehumanizing transformation, where generative systems mimic not just content, but the entire ecosystem: creator, reviewer, performer, promoter, consumer.—
Emil Steiner,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Versions with straps that mimic the look of a Mary-Jane are also quite popular.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underplay. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.
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