play down
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: playdown
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
play down (third-person singular simple present plays down, present participle playing down, simple past and past participle played down)
- (idiomatic, transitive) To make or attempt to make something seem less important, likely, or obvious.
- The essay attempts to play down the role slavery had in the Civil War.
- The senator played down the threat of a recession.
- During the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, Miguel played down his immigrant status by removing Chicano patois from his speech and adopting the nickname "Mike."
- 2019 October, Dan Harvey, “HS2 costs rise as schedule slips”, in Modern Railways, page 8:
- Reports that the project is in trouble have been circulating for many months and have been played down by officials.
Synonyms
- (make to seem less important): de-emphasize, downplay
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “make to seem less important”): play up
Derived terms
Translations
play down — see downplay
Anagrams
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