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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Recent Examples of understates
In practice, that means the median sales price of new homes understates the actual discount, because many concessions don’t show up in the data.
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Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for understates
Verb
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Your Lawn Aerating the lawn helps nutrients reach deeper into the soil, minimizes compaction, and can help when overseeding the lawn.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
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At the time, Lee minimizes the bombshell by way of embellishment.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As for the third criticism—that the point system is gamification, trivializing death and destruction—Prickly dismisses it out of hand.—
Tamar Jacoby,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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The poem dismisses prevailing emphases on externals, stressing instead the formative powers of one’s inner being.—
Daniella Walsh,
Oc Register,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Even as Vancouver publicly downplays its conviction about Cootes, internally, the conversation around him is beginning to shift materially.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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The film’s overall low-key tenor downplays both moral judgment and conspicuous style, though neither are entirely lacking.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Understates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/understates. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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