downplay
Americanverb (used with object)
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downplays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
downplayed,
past participle, past
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downplaying
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
downplaysimple
-
downplayssimple
-
have downplayedperfect
-
has downplayedperfect
-
am downplayingprogressive
-
are downplayingprogressive
-
is downplayingprogressive
-
have been downplayingperfect progressive
-
has been downplayingperfect progressive
Past
-
downplayedsimple
-
had downplayedperfect
-
was downplayingprogressive
-
were downplayingprogressive
-
had been downplayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of downplay
Explanation
To downplay something is to act as if it's not very important. If you're trying to convince your friends to play poker with you, you might downplay the fact that you're an experienced and competitive player. Politicians who depend on contributions from oil and gas companies tend to downplay the environmental effects of their products, and a boy who wants a trampoline for his birthday might downplay the possible dangers when he talks to his parents about it. Downplay is a relatively recent addition to the English language, dating from the late 1960s.
Vocabulary lists containing downplay
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Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam
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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.
See Examples For:
None of this is to downplay the potential dangers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The death of a Russian lab technician triggers fears of a pneumonic plague outbreak, even as health officials downplay the risk.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
As much as Bhaghani wants to downplay the personal significance of the season opener, he acknowledged he has been counting down the minutes to his return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
In response, Bessent has tried to downplay those worries.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
President Johnson tried to downplay the massive attack at a news conference on February 2, saying “a few bandits can do that in any city.”
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Constellation Brands signals weak demand for two flagship beer brands, while Intel rises after Elon Musk downplays TSMC’s role in Terafab.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
And Attia largely downplays the risks of overtesting, which can lead to both false positives and the detection of markers that will never develop into life-threatening disease.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2026
Yet NRM spokesperson Dombo downplays suggestions that Museveni is grooming his son as an heir.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
What is new, among Beach Boys documentaries, is the tone, which does not linger on the sensational episodes and downplays the squabbling to emphasize the love.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2024
The headline on Worthmore’s piece downplays some of the questions raised.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Musk has downplayed the sales slump at Tesla, focusing on the company’s future as a maker of autonomous vehicles and taxis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Throughout his campaign, Ossoff downplayed such rumours, saying on multiple occasions that he has "zero interest" in a presidential bid.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Stafford downplayed having left the locker room on Sunday with an ice pack on his right elbow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
That is worse than the three percent decline registered in the second quarter, but Kering downplayed the decline as being due to a more challenging base of comparison last year for its flagship double-G brand.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
She had always gone her own way, though she downplayed her choices, calling them accidents.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Gardner makes his job look easy, but he says his understudies accused him of downplaying just how challenging it can be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
However, he warned that the telecommunications industry is still downplaying the risk from satellite competitors, which in his view is a mistake.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
“I think people are downplaying the significance of Nimbyism in this country right now,” Purohit said, adding that companies looking to sell this summer will be scrutinized for how they plan to handle it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Despite the downplaying of any breakthrough from senior officials, Iran's top negotiator and foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the US, Reuters reported.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
There was no doubt she was suffering, yet she remained upbeat, downplaying everything with a shrug and saying, “Any caring mother would do all that and more for her children.”
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
