play down

verb

played down; playing down; plays down

transitive verb

: to attach little importance to : minimize

Synonyms

• bad-mouth
• belittle
• cry down
• decry
• denigrate
• deprecate
• depreciate
• derogate
• diminish
• dis [slang]
• diss
• discount
• dismiss
• disparage
• kiss off
• minimize
• poor-mouth
• put down
• run down
• talk down
• trash
• trash-talk
• vilipend
• write off

Examples of play down in a Sentence

out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments

if you play down your part in the project, you won't get the credit you deserve

Recent Examples on the Web

Television’s tendency to play down to the masses — manipulating our individual needs for attention, for agreement, or simply to win — is an insuperable problem at this particular, shameless moment in pop culture. —Armond White, National Review, 16 Oct. 2024

Mbappé was substituted in the final moments of Tuesday night's 3-2 win over Deportivo Alavés, but coach Carlo Ancelotti played down any injury concerns as a precautionary measure. —Sam Leveridge, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

The company played down the financial impact in September, saying the drug Oxbryta brought in a little over $300 million last year. —Rohan Goswami, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2024

Stokely repeatedly played down OnlyFans’ focus on adult content. —Jemima McEvoy, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

play down

verb

: to attach little importance to : minimize