1
as in understating
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2
as in overplaying
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underplaying
Verb
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Yes, Reid is understating his profound influence over it all, whether that’s directly through frequent conversations with Veach or via what’s simply understood between them by now.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026 -
Of course, many bank CEOs, analysts and investors disagree, saying private equity firms are understating the potential risks and exposure.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Stop downplaying gifts that were meant to be seen.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
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To locals, Soviet leaders seemed to be downplaying the severity of the explosion.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Even while enacting revenge on her neighbor, Peet’s on-screen persona remains thoughtfully comfortable.—
Rylee Johnston,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
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At a time when states are enacting an anti-voting agenda to limit who can participate in elections, Maryland must set the standard for an inclusive democracy, not falling short of it.—
Nicole D. Porter,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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People in the entertainment industry have slammed AI for mimicking artists’ voices and likenesses.—
Daniel Wine,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
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Wiseman hypothesized that stronger magnetic fields may affect the brain, similar to how electrical stimulation of the angular gyrus can make one feel as if there is another person standing behind, mimicking one’s movements.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Garcia says, acting out the usual blush of so many bewildered men.—
Darío Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
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This reality means that the environmental review angle can be an effective veto over development by NIMBY groups and others acting out of ideological rather than environmentally-conscious concerns.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The contest aims to challenge negative stereotypes of seagulls, which are often seen as a nuisance, by imitating them, per local network WTV.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
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Another potential treatment route the study opens up is using machines to massage cancer cells, imitating the rhythmic beating of the heart.—
Anil Oza,
STAT,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The two candidates, who have been leading Republicans in previous polling, spend much of their political capital taking on one another in hopes of avoiding a runoff race.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
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But Fuqua’s Hannibal is recognizably Black—an African insurgent taking on a European empire.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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There’s a word for this type of storytelling, and Taccone deserves credit for delivering a superior version of this without outright aping its most famous practitioner.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
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But the series’ genre switch is just a theatrical exercise, like Euphoria is putting on another play, this one against a Harmony Korine– and Quentin Tarantino–aping backdrop.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Underplaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underplaying. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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