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.

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of understates Because accommodations are billed separately, the advertised figure understates the full cost of the stay. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for understates

Verb

The framing minimizes the conduct at the center of the controversy.

— Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
It's also supported by Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium, which also minimizes gameplay latency, ensuring responsive feedback.

— George Yang, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of minimizes

Verb

Oeffling humbly downplays the appeal of his music, which has a familiar, early 2000s aesthetic that sounds indebted to the spirit of Yo La Tengo and Broken Social Scene, as well as contemporaries like Alex G.

— Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
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