1
as in to understate
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Recent Examples of underplay
Mintz more than matches the acrobatic dancing of Donald O’Connor’s Cosmo in the movie but underplays the character’s goofiness and goes for a sly, self-respecting sassiness instead.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 July 2025
To say that there is no love lost between the two sides would be to underplay the depth of feeling here.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 9 June 2025
By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.
—Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
But his performance as the coldly confident Conway is still an excellent part of the world Scorsese constructs, and De Niro underplays to excellent effects.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underplay
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 July 2025
To say that there is no love lost between the two sides would be to underplay the depth of feeling here.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 9 June 2025
By de-emphasizing the will of not just Poles but also Ukrainians, Hubris underplays the key factor that brought Putin to the point of annexing Crimea in 2014: Ukraine’s fervent hope for closer trade ties with the EU.
—Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
But his performance as the coldly confident Conway is still an excellent part of the world Scorsese constructs, and De Niro underplays to excellent effects.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underplay
Verb
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Another study for the American Psychological Association (APA) suggests the NCES numbers may understate the problem.—
IndyStar,
IndyStar,
3 Sep. 2025
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Today, romantasy’s staying power can’t be understated.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Democrats believe the Trump administration has overplayed its hand with its push for mass deportation.—
Bill Barrow,
Twin Cities,
14 July 2025
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Marlon takes on the guise of a thug named Roach and of course overplays the role.—
Caryn James,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2025
Verb
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The president also appeared to downplay the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s jobs report that will be announced on Friday.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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His concerns were downplayed a few months ago by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Congress had enacted byzantine eligibility requirements for disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits, forcing the agency to expend huge amounts of time and money running those programs.—
Eli Hager,
ProPublica,
8 Sep. 2025
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Chérizier, 48, who’s been actively meeting with former rivals, may be trying to duplicate the conditions in Carrefour, a sprawling suburb south of the capital where gangs now settle disputes, enact rules and profit from residents’ commercial activities.—
Johnny Fils-Aimé,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One could easily be accused of overacting, of doing too much.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
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There are few instances of someone overacting more in a movie, unnecessarily adding an undercurrent of murderous, jokey psychotic to an already bizarre creation.—
Mark Kennedy,
Boston Herald,
13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Dennis is often seen playing it as a way of acting out his manipulative tendencies toward actual human beings, and Dennis and Roman also go to a Hollywood party as Sims.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
4 Sep. 2025
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Despite their language barrier, Costner did his best to talk to the tribe about buffalo, acting out how the animal would behave.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Nearly every garish flight of fancy that decorates the frame is a distraction while the majority of the film does little more than rotely dramatize Kafka’s biography.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
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Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, the new series of Rogue Heroes comes at a critical stage of World War Two, continuing to dramatize the story of the world’s greatest Special Forces unit.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Additionally, many products are marketed to mimic popular snacks and candies, leading to accidental ingestion by consumers and children.—
A.J. Herrington,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Rather, the bots are skilled at mimicking human reactions to stressful situations, responding to users in ways that often reflect racist and sexist biases.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underplay. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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