UNDERPLAYING Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

underplaying

verb

present participle of underplay

as in understating

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in overplaying

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for underplaying

Verb

Recent warnings about the potential destructive power of AI are understating the severity of the situation.

— Geoffrey Irving, Time, 3 Oct. 2026
To call Molly and Frankie aimless would be, somehow, both understating the case and missing it completely.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of understating

Verb

In our moment of reckoning, most of the current momentum is going toward enacting social media bans for kids younger than 16.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Let them — especially the new governor, presumably Xavier Becerra — consider enacting new CEQA reforms, holding months of public hearings and ultimately compromising on a deal.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of enacting

Verb

But since SpaceX floated the idea of becoming a US carrier, T-Mobile has been downplaying satellite connectivity and even suggested working with other satellite partners.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
Eight states sued OpenAI this week, alleging that the AI company caused severe harm to users, many of them underage, while downplaying the risks of its technology.

— Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of downplaying

Verb

The novel was also partly epistolary, including segments of fictional court transcripts and news coverage created by King (who enjoyed mimicking different writing styles).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Germany and the United States surpassed the United Kingdom economically, not simply by mimicking it but by taking its innovations further.

— NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of mimicking

Verb

And sometimes people do that with drugs, some people do that with acting out or getting in fights or whatever the ways that people do it.

— Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
If Graham fails in her bid, she can be forgiven for acting out of loyalty and love for her brother.

— Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of acting out

Verb

In the case of Yemen, the ground fighters inside the country who are taking on the Houthis are deeply divided and fought each other as recently as January.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
The sharp selloff in bonds has given investors a rare opportunity to lock in stock-market-like returns without taking on the risk that comes with equities, investment advisors to the ultra-wealthy told CNBC.

— Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of taking on

Verb

Critics and fanboy media thrashed Supergirl not just for its Guardians of the Galaxy touchstones, but also for aping Mad Max.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 29 June 2026
For Shorts, the label will appear as a small overlay at the bottom of the video itself, although that will add to the already cluttered look of the TikTok-aping Shorts.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

Definition of aping

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.

Browse Nearby Words

underplayed

underplaying

underplays

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Underplaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underplaying. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of underplaying

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

milieu

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes