English

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Etymology

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Synthetic form of the phrase play down. By surface analysis, down- +‎ play.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

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downplay (third-person singular simple present downplays, present participle downplaying, simple past and past participle downplayed)

  1. (transitive) To de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequential.
    He would sometimes downplay his Princeton education by saying simply that he went to school in New Jersey.

Usage notes

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  • The synonymous alternative form play down is slightly more formal, or slightly less informal.

Synonyms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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