UNDERSTATEMENT Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

understatement

noun

Definition of understatement

as in meiosis

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in restraint

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 understatement To say the world has become more complex, uncertain and faster paced over the past four decades is an understatement. — Harry Kraemer, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026 To say Knicks fever took over New York City is perhaps the biggest understatement of the year, with the Big Apple exploding with an electric energy (with sky-high ticket prices to match) as the team defeated the San Antonio Spurs in this year’s NBA Finals. — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 22 June 2026 And saying the interior is performance focused is a severe understatement. — New Atlas, 21 June 2026 Jane Austen and Charles Dickens were both masters of comedy, but the contrast between her ironic understatement and his histrionic exaggeration reflects profoundly different personalities and life experiences, in which class and gender played an important part. — Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for understatement

Recent Examples of Synonyms for understatement

Noun

The media business always goes through some splitting of cells — meiosis and mitosis — but every industry leader concedes that consolidation is especially needed today.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 30 June 2026
According to the study, THC interferes with meiosis, the cell division process crucial for producing healthy eggs.

— Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 12 Sep. 2025

Definition of meiosis

Noun

Under an existing state appropriations restraint, also known as the Gann Limit, lawmakers cannot spend more than an amount determined by a formula that takes annual tax proceeds, changes to the population and cost of living into consideration.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
For 70 minutes, Paraguay had played with corseted restraint, frustrating France with organisation, concentration and no little gamesmanship.

— Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026

Definition of restraint

Noun

Asserting claims for tortious interference, civil conspiracy, commercial disparagement and violations of Illinois consumer fraud laws, the Butlers sought more than $50 million in compensatory damages and over $200 million in punitive damages.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 22 June 2026
These disparagements cut to the core of southern manhood.

— Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026

Definition of disparagement

Noun

Emergency drain cleaning runs $400 to $1,000 or more, depending on severity.

— Sharon Wu, USA Today, 4 July 2026
While most wildfires in the past burned slowly across the forest floor, providing benefits to the forest, high-severity fires roar into the tops of the trees, burning 1,000 degrees or hotter, with flames that can reach 200 feet tall.

— Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 3 July 2026

Definition of severity

Noun

Nearly half a century later, the Santa Monica, California, firm is still at it, producing unpretentious contemporary homes that place a premium on community, sustainability and modesty.

— Fred Albert, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
Although bikini-esque garments stretch back to Roman times, the 20th century began with a period of great modesty and puritanism.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 June 2026

Definition of modesty

Noun

With the center sliding ever rightward, is the board’s plea for moderation a ploy to keep the Democrats compliant and accepting in their/our being dragged along through the corridors of power?

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
One faction argues that battle-ground states are won by re-assuring swing voters and projecting moderation.

— Nik Popli, Time, 8 July 2026

Definition of moderation

Noun

Mixing knits with leather creates texture and contrast in the outfit, while the height and simplicity of these solid-color boots helps ground the overall look.

— Abby Morgan Lebet, Glamour, 6 July 2026
Professionals must actively map where their risk truly lies, assessing counterparty exposure, income correlation, and cost repricing, rather than mistaking simplicity for safety.

— Henrik Totterman, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026

Definition of simplicity

Noun

The sheer fact of filming fills a frame, even one composed with quasi-documentary plainness, with a plethora of details of narrative, expressive, aesthetic, intellectual, and historical import.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
To understand why men might have adopted a clothing system that prioritized plainness and conformity over color and change, this book investigates the gradual crystallization of this civic uniform of masculinity.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 June 2026

Definition of plainness

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“Understatement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/understatement. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of understatement

noun

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