underpromise

U1N1D2E1R1P3R1O1M3I1S1E1

verb

To promise less than one expects to do.

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

verbunderpromise (third-person singular simple present underpromises, present participle underpromising, simple past and past participle underpromised)

present singular third person underpromises · participle present underpromising · participle past underpromised · past underpromised

  1. intransitiveTo promise less than one expects to do.

    “He’s wise not to overpromise, but to underpromise and overdeliver,” said Dave Checketts, a former president of the Knicks and then Madison Square Garden who left in 2001 after a power struggle with James L. Dolan, the chairman of the Garden.

    2008 April 4, Richard Sandomir, “Fixing a Broken Dream One Night at a Time”, in New York Times

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
undercommit

Origin

From under- + promise.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underpromise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underpromise

MLA

“underpromise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underpromise. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underpromise,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underpromise.

Source: underpromise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.