as in to minimize
to reduce in apparent importance
you're at a point in your career where you can de-emphasize your academic record and emphasize your work experience
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Recent Examples of de-emphasize
Cyberlink de-emphasizes the automatic, easy movie project tools, instead focusing on serious full-power video editing.
—
PC Magazine, 15 Nov. 2025
The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
The base Microsoft 365 subscription itself has become increasingly essential as Microsoft de-emphasizes standalone Office purchases and makes cloud integration more central to document workflows.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
PC Magazine, 15 Nov. 2025
The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
The base Microsoft 365 subscription itself has become increasingly essential as Microsoft de-emphasizes standalone Office purchases and makes cloud integration more central to document workflows.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for de-emphasize
Verb
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Until the time of surgery if it is warranted, sometimes using saline flushes or eye lubricants can minimize irritation of the eyes.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2026
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Most of the time blueberries must be hand-picked, but machine harvestable blueberries can minimize labor costs for growers.—
Olivia Wakim,
AJC.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Many community leaders and local officials downplayed the impact of SB 79 on San Diego when it was approved last October because the city had already done significant upzoning near many of its trolley stops, especially in University City and Mission Valley.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
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The AfD has become more radical since then, and some of its prominent members have openly used Nazi language and downplayed the Holocaust.—
Nick Tabor,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Then in September, Newsom's Legal Affairs Secretary David Sapp sent an email to JUSD administrators on what appeared to include a copy of the state's motion to dismiss that lawsuit, as seen in public records obtained by Fox News Digital.—
Jackson Thompson OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
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Curiel also declined to dismiss causes of action against three of the deputy’s supervisors, who are accused of knowing the female deputy failed to return to the scene and had dissuaded Quinones from providing assistance.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Verb
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This loud-and-proud version of Sonny certainly feels progressive, but in a different way it soft-pedals Sonny’s complications.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
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Whatever your preconceived notions about Feldman are, Hume’s film will expand and challenge them; the movie’s greatness lies in its ability to capture all of Feldman’s contradictions and self-destructiveness, empathizing with him without soft-pedaling his sins.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“De-emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-emphasize. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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