play down

present singular third person plays down · participle present playing down · participle past played down · past played down

1. idiomatictransitiveTo make or attempt to make something seem less important, likely, or obvious.

   The senator played down the threat of a recession.

   3 more examples

   The essay attempts to play down the role slavery had in the Civil War.

   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."

   Reports that the project is in trouble have been circulating for many months and have been played down by officials.

   2019 October, Dan Harvey, “HS2 costs rise as schedule slips”, in Modern Railways, page 8

   Synonyms: de-emphasize, downplay, bagatellize, banalize, belittle, cut down, de-emphasize, denigrate · Antonyms: play up, big up, cut it fat, exaggerate, hyperbolize, overcharge, overdo, overemphasize