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underplays

verb

present tense third-person singular of underplay
1
as in understates

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2
as in overplays

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for underplays
  1. understates
  2. enacts
  3. downplays
Verb
  • Geography alone, though, understates the league’s binational character.
    — Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Calling Bezos a Star Trek superfan drastically understates the depth of his attachment to the show.
    — Jacob Weisberg, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of understates
Verb
  • Trump quickly enacts a temporary 10% global levy using a different law.
    — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Undaunted, Demczur used his squeegee blade to carve a hole in the plaster so the men could kick through the wall to escape—a process Demczur re-enacts for the series.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of enacts
Verb
  • Analysts suggest this may reflect that as the Fed gradually downplays forward guidance, market sensitivity to Fed wording—as well as the Fed's overall influence over markets—could be waning.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of downplays
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

underplaying
underplays
underprepared
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Cite this Entry

“Underplays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underplays. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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