understate
verb (used with object)
to state or represent less strongly or strikingly than the facts would bear out; set forth in restrained, moderate, or weak terms.
had understated
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past perfectof understate.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the contract Musk signed was a tricky devil, and his Hail Mary of choice was to argue that, actually, Twitter had an enormous bot problem that it had understated to him.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2023
The alliance was rocked in November 2018 when Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested over allegations that he had understated his annual salary and misused company funds.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2023
A few years after the sale, Mr. Adelson’s two sons from his first marriage sued him, alleging that he had understated the value of Comdex to cheat them.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 12, 2021
Prosecutors had discovered that, between 2012 and 2016, he had understated his income by more than four million dollars, thus avoiding $1.4 million in federal taxes during those five years.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 29, 2019
They were massed, standing among benches on either side, and if anything Pyairr Ravney had understated their numbers.
From A Slave is a Slave by H. Beam Piper
