understatement

American  

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

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of understatement

under- + statement

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

To call him bullish about the technology’s potential would be an understatement.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

To say he is not your average 20-year-old would be an understatement.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

If anything, after a few days spent dipping my T. rex hands into the cool primordial sludge of the dinosaur fandom, Panella’s sentiment feels like an understatement.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

In a typical understatement, he added: “And the ultimate result was apparently accepted by everybody, because people still play them, and they like them. For which, of course, I’m very pleased.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

“Weird is like the biggest understatement of all time,” he said, shoving his hands into his hair.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin