understatement

[uhn-der-steyt-muhnt, uhn-der-steyt-]

noun

1. the act or an instance of understating, or representing in a weak or restrained way that is not borne out by the facts.

   The journalist wrote that the earthquake had caused some damage. This turned out to be a massive understatement of the devastation.

understatement

1. A form of irony in which something is intentionally represented as less than it is: “Hank Aaron was a pretty good ball player.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of understatement¹

under- + statement

Example Sentences

To say that investors are optimistic about the upcoming results would be an understatement.

Read more on Barron's

He still brakes for bad puns and double-negative understatements, but he avoids the kind of under-metabolized research that sometimes alienated his early readers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To say I was born under a lucky star would be a massive understatement.

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"Disappointed is an understatement - I'm cross," she said.

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"To say I'm heartbroken is the biggest understatement," she said in a statement.

Read more on BBC