play down

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to make little or light of; minimize the importance of

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play down Idioms  

1. 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]

2. 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]

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Example Sentences

Arteta played down the incident by saying: "You saw it, but it's OK, it’s all good. That is part of the game and it’s not unusual at all."

From Barron's

The legal news website SCOTUSblog has also begun using interim docket as its default nomenclature, rankling some commentators who accused the site of adopting a term that plays down the real-world repercussions of interim orders.

From The Wall Street Journal

The mission was classified and the details played down in official records, to mitigate the risk of a direct conflict with the Soviets at the dawn of the Cold War.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, Villa boss Emery said to "be a contender in front of them" is not "our reality" as he played down title talk and urged his players to "continue to be humble".

From BBC

The White House has played down ideological differences with Beijing, putting economics and trade as a priority in the relationship in a national-security strategy published this month.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• belittle
• gloss over
• minimize
• mute
• soft pedal
• soften
• underplay