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 it’s been a challenging summer for the Jackson County government would be an understatement. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026 That’s a bit of an understatement, since these shows likely grossed somewhere in the ballpark of $60,000, which is $343,000 today. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026 To call the structure enormous is an understatement (and there’s an even bigger villa in the works). — Nick Remsen, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2026 That’s the understatement of the day from a Neighborhood Planning Unit member talking about the Formula 1 racing event that will be held on the streets of Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood this Saturday. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for understatement

Recent Examples of Synonyms for understatement

Noun

Chromosome pairs are also essential for meiosis, the specialized type of cell division that produces sperm and eggs.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 July 2026
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

Definition of meiosis

Noun

Iamaleava could have allowed the disparagement to compound, but the starting signal-caller is using it as fuel for a 2026 season where many have the Bruins painted as a potential dark horse.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Her mother, meanwhile, is backed up by her second husband (Kwon), a mild-mannered documentary filmmaker whose profession gives his wife yet more ammunition in her smiling disparagement of Sanghee.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of disparagement

Noun

Hammer time Rating the severity of Clippers penalties Adam Silver and the NBA finally levied a punishment on the Clippers on Wednesday after 364 days of an investigation into allegations of salary-cap circumvention.

— Zach Harper, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
The tone continues to be placid, the plunky marimba and steel drum score remains the same, and the performances only grow to feel even more remarkably lived-in as the severity of the situation clicks into place.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of severity

Noun

Her interest in what happened to my body when she was born knows no modesty or fear.

— Miranda Rake, Parents, 25 Aug. 2026
The relentless state media campaign on the issue often cites prayer leaders who insist the hijab is part of Iranian cultural identity and that women should observe modesty.

— Tim Lister, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of modesty

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

Browse Nearby Words

understated

understatement

understatements

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Understatement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/understatement. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of understatement

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

gist

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes