understate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
understates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
understated,
past participle, past
-
understating
present participle
verb
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to state (something) in restrained terms, often to obtain an ironic effect
-
to state that (something, such as a number) is less than it is
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
understatesimple
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understatessimple
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have understatedperfect
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has understatedperfect
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am understatingprogressive
-
are understatingprogressive
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is understatingprogressive
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have been understatingperfect progressive
-
has been understatingperfect progressive
Past
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understatedsimple
-
had understatedperfect
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was understatingprogressive
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were understatingprogressive
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had been understatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of understate
Explanation
One way to think about the verb understate is as the opposite of "exaggerate." If you want to make something seem smaller or less important than it really is, you're likely to understate it. If you don't want your grandmother to worry about you, you might be tempted to understate, or downplay, the trouble you've had finding a new job. Business owners might understate their financial problems when they're applying for a bank loan, and a new student might understate her experience speaking French so as not to embarrass her inept French teacher.
Vocabulary lists containing understate
Black Boy
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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:
Moreover, these percentages understate the long odds that Paramount faces, Gu noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Cash payments help businesses understate turnover to stay below the VAT threshold, while cash wages help them avoid payroll taxes.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
It’s difficult to understate just how badly Tuesday went for shares of IBM.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But if they are broadening into something more persistent, the trimmed mean will understate inflation, possibly by a lot.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
Francis saw no reason to understate the power of the helical theory and within several minutes revealed the way Bessel functions gave neat answers.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Some economists said the Fed’s prevailing view understates the risk of waiting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
And that understates the savings, because it also would have cut the $9 trillion in net interest the government has to pay on the national debt over that period.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
“This understates the costliness to U.S. households though, because tariffs also allow non-importing firms to raise their prices if they’re competing with imports,” Bivens said.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2026
He says dismissing concerns as a GTA-style moral panic "understates what is changing".
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
When a man says, "I 'low that is a purty peart sort of a hoss," he understates for the sake of emphasis.
From The Hoosier Schoolmaster A Story of Backwoods Life in Indiana by Edward Eggleston
He’s somehow both understated — he’s not showboating, even when he would be entitled to — and authoritative.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Many French A-listers, drawn to the understated charm of Cap-Ferret over the glitz of the French Riviera, spend their vacations there or own homes on the peninsula.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
His understated reaction before clasping hands with Rushing seemed to simply say, I guess I did that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
But the feature dithers in development, which becomes something of a running joke here; the shot of a stone-faced Mr. McElwee watching a ridiculous promo reel is a moment of perfectly understated comedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Complementary to her understated beauty, my father fell in love with my mother’s enthusiasm for life and her love of children.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
That’s understating it: Satellite data weekly updated by the European Union confirm that Canada’s total burned area in 2026 by Aug. 5 was below the 2012-25 average the EU uses as a baseline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Short seller Muddy Waters Research accused SoFi of understating debt and intentionally diluting shareholders in a March report—claims SoFi called “factually inaccurate and misleading.”
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
U.S. accounting rules for intangible assets have been subject to criticism for potentially understating their true value or sometimes excluding some internally developed assets entirely.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026
"If I said it felt like getting hit with a sledgehammer, I'd be understating it," Steutel told BBC Sport, describing the moment he found out about the ban.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
He appeared to enjoy slowly understating important arguments.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Definitions 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.
