English Dictionary

UNDERSTATE

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does understate mean? 

UNDERSTATE (verb)
  The verb UNDERSTATE has 1 sense:

1. represent as less significant or importantplay

  Familiarity information: UNDERSTATE used as a verb is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


UNDERSTATE (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they understate  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it understates  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: understated  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: understated  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: understating  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Represent as less significant or important

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

downplay; minimise; minimize; understate

Hypernyms (to "understate" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "understate"):

trivialise; trivialize (make trivial or insignificant)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

overstate (to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth)

Derivation:

understatement (a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said)


 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"If words could only speak, they'd mean even less." (English proverb)

"One rain does not make a crop." (Native American proverb, Creole)

"Wealth comes like a turtle and goes away like a gazelle." (Arabic proverb)

"Even if a monkey wears a golden ring, it is and remains an ugly thing." (Dutch proverb)



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