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Wiktionary The Free Dictionary

downplay

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Verb

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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
    • 1984, Marc Sigoloff, The Films of the Seventies, A Filmography of American, British and Canadian Films 1970–1979, page 158:
      The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is no ordinary thriller. John Cassavetes, as usual, downplays the plot, opting for character and endless improvisation, but it does not entirely work in this setting.
    • 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

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

Derived terms

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Translations

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to de-emphasize; to present or portray something as less important or consequential

Anagrams

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