downplay

downplay
/down"play'/, v.t.
to treat or speak of (something) so as to reduce emphasis on its importance, value, strength, etc.: The press has downplayed the president's role in the negotiations.
[1950-55; DOWN1 + PLAY, from v. phrase play down]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • downplay — “de emphasize,” 1968, from DOWN (Cf. down) (adv.) + PLAY (Cf. play) (v.). Related: Downplayed; downplaying …   Etymology dictionary

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  • downplay — [doun′plā΄] vt. to play down; minimize …   English World dictionary

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  • downplay — verb Downplay is used with these nouns as the object: ↑extent, ↑importance, ↑incident, ↑role, ↑seriousness, ↑significance …   Collocations dictionary

  • downplay — down|play [ˌdaunˈpleı US ˈdaunpleı] v [T] to make something seem less important than it really is = ↑play down ▪ White House officials attempted to downplay the President s role in the affair …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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