play down
Britishverb
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Make little of, minimize the importance of, as in A skillful salesman plays down the drawbacks of the product and emphasizes its good features . [First half of 1900s]
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play down to . Lower one's standards to meet the demands of someone, as in Some stand-up comics deliberately play down to the vulgar taste of their audiences . [Late 1800s]
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.
Less than 20% of businesses that respond to positive reviews use strategies to play down the compliment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
A high-ranking Ethiopian federal army commander sought to play down the conflict in comments to AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Eckerlin is quick to play down the impact of his advice for the Brighton players, but admits his training "opened doors" for them.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
After its stock tanked, Bally’s tried to play down the disclosure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
“Until recently, given the students’ enthusiasm for the reading groups, I was able to play down that data,” she wrote.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
