UNDERSTATES Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

understates

verb

present tense third-person singular of understate

as in minimizes

to say that (something) is smaller, less important, etc., than it really is He understated his taxable income. She's trying to understate the issue/problem.

Related Words

Relevance

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 understates Calling Bezos a Star Trek superfan drastically understates the depth of his attachment to the show. — Jacob Weisberg, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026 Its valuation remains below McKesson and roughly in line with Cencora , which understates the quality and diversification of Cardinal's business and leaves room for the stock to reach new highs. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026 Skin Is Several Habits That Support Several Organisms An adult’s skin covers roughly 2 square meters, though that number understates the space actually available. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 But over the last 12 months, inflation has nearly kept pace with hourly wage gains — and that understates the extent of the problem because debt service costs are not included in the consumer price index. — ABC News, 1 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, the official bond tally that’s hitting the market understates all the actual borrowing that’s going on to fund the AI boom. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 31 July 2026 There are reasons to believe this understates the problem, though. — Andrew E. Busch, The Conversation, 23 July 2026 That split between process and outcomes has left them 90 minutes from something the table understates. — Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 23 May 2026 Andrew Higgins, an aerospace engineer at McGill University, worries that the LEGO-like way that SR-1 Freedom has been planned—with lots of parts from different, unrelated projects just waiting to be bolted together—vastly understates the challenge ahead. — David W. Brown, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for understates

Verb

That dynamic undoubtedly minimizes the adjustment associated with staff upheaval.

— Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
By preventing excess slack and eliminating interfering contours, the PBU minimizes collision risks across complex movement paths.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of minimizes

Verb

But Vicente dismisses global heating as the main reason for the fires that are ravaging Europe.

— Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Nobody clings to each other more firmly, defends their relationship more fiercely, or dismisses the opinions of the internet more authentically than Brinity.

— Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of dismisses

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