understatement

American  

[uhn-der-stayt-muhnt, uhn-der-stayt-] / ˌʌn dərˈsteɪt mənt, ˈʌn dərˌsteɪt- /

noun

• understatements
  plural

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.

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understatement British  

/ ˌʌndəˈsteɪtmənt /

noun

1. the act or an instance of stating something in restrained terms, or as less than it is

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understatement Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• understatements
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of understatement

under- + statement

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Explanation

You make an understatement when you say a lot less than you could. If you say "We didn't do our best" when your team loses 56 to 0, that's quite an understatement. An understatement can be just the thing to make someone feel better. For example, if you are a terrible dancer and everyone seems to be pointing and laughing at you, your friend might say your style is unique. She's not lying, but she is making sad truth easier to deal with. Understatement can also be used humorously — if you have a really difficult, scary experience, you might say, "Well, that was interesting."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

understatement understatements

By the end, the hyperbolic term “madman” seems like an understatement for Irwin’s subjects, many of whom are, at a minimum, fantasists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

“It does not inspire confidence to know that this kind of wild understatement happened,” said Andrew Granato, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in corporate finance and insurance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

"To say that the circumstance surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement," she told the court.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

"To say that the circumstances surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement," Raper said in the judgement.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Nor was it that he spoke loud or long; the surprise of the man was his understatement, the quiet and kindly intimacy of his acquaintance.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

As for the camp factor, many massive understatements in the script will trigger appreciative howls of laughter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

It was one of the greatest understatements of all time.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025

In the world of understatements, saying there’s a lot of television out there has to rank among the boldest.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2022

“He’ll tell you he ‘plays a little keyboard,’ but that is one of the most tremendous understatements ever.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 26, 2016

Many of the stories are understatements, seldom is one exaggerated.

From Dick in the Everglades by A. W. Dimock

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