downplay

§English

§Alternative forms

• play down

§Etymology

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.

   He would sometimes downplay his Princeton education by saying simply that he went to school in New Jersey.

§Usage notes

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

§Translations

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

• Bulgarian: омаловажавам (bg) (omalovažavam)
• Czech: bagatelizovat impf
• Dutch: bagatelliseren (nl), geringachten
• French: minimiser (fr)
• German: herunterspielen (de), verharmlosen

• Hebrew: גִמֵּד (giméd), הִצְנִיעַ (hitsnía)
• Italian: minimizzare, sminuire (it)
• Russian: преуменьшать (ru) (preumenʹšatʹ)

§Anagrams

• play down, playdown