downplay

English

Etymology

Synthetic form of the phrase play down. By surface analysis, down- +‎ play.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

downplay (third-person singular simple present downplays, present participle downplaying, simple past and past participle downplayed)

  1. (transitive) To de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequential.
    Synonyms: play down, trivialize, understate; see also Thesaurus:trivialize
    He would sometimes downplay his Princeton education by saying simply that he went to school in New Jersey.
    • 2023 April 17, Will Sommer, “‘Stop the Steal’ Organizer Apologizes After Being Accused of Asking Teen Boys for D*ck Pics”, in The Daily Beast‎[1], archived from the original on 20 April 2023:
      [Milo] Yiannopoulos, whose own career as a far-right pundit imploded in 2017 after remarks he had made downplaying the seriousness of pedophilia surfaced, claims he has more damaging videos to release about [Ali] Alexander and [Nick] Fuentes.

Usage notes

  • The synonymous alternative form play down is slightly more formal, or slightly less informal.

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