Synonyms for understate
Most common
underplay downplay trivialize make little of underrate sell short
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Underplay — to state (something) with less completeness than needed; to minimise or downplay
underplay, downplay, trivialize, trivialise UK, make little of, make nothing of, belittle, minimize, minimise UK, de-emphasize, deemphasise UK, underestimate, disparage, deprecate, banalize, banalise UK
2. Underrate — to state a quantity that is too low
Definitions
- v. 1
To state (something) with less completeness than needed; to minimise or downplay.
To call this decision a calculated bet understates the risk; it is a Hail Mary pass.
- v. 2
To state a quantity that is too low.
The company had been understating its liabilities for years.
Related words
- Word family
- understated understatement
Forms
- Past participle
- understated
e.g. understated → underplayed, downplayed, trivialized, belittled…
Example sentences
- downplay If you try to downplay this, I'm going to walk away.
- belittle Why do you have to belittle people all the time?
- trivialize While I don't want to trivialize your concerns, is all of this really necessary?
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| understate | falling | |
| downplay | rising | |
| belittle | steady | |
| trivialize | rising | |
| underplay | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 8 letters
- minimize3, minimise, downplay2, belittle3, banalize, banalise
- 9 letters
- disparage3, underrate3, deprecate3, underplay3
- 10 letters
- trivialize4, trivialise
- 11 letters
- deemphasise, underreckon
- 13 letters
- underestimate5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (minimize3 = 3 syllables).