understate

[uhn-der-steyt]

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verb (used with object), un·der·stat·ed, un·der·stat·ing.

to state or represent less strongly or strikingly than the facts would bear out; set forth in restrained, moderate, or weak terms: The casualty lists understate the extent of the disaster.

Origin of understate

First recorded in 1815–25; under- + state

Related formsun·der·state·ment

[uhn-der-steyt-muh nt, uhn-der-steyt-] /ˌʌn dərˈsteɪt mənt, ˈʌn dərˌsteɪt-/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for understate

minimize, downplay, lessen, underrate, undervalue, devalue

Examples from the Web for understate

Contemporary Examples of understate

I don't want to understate either, however; these are the major chronic diseases we should be expecting Medicaid to help.
Study: Giving People Government Health Insurance May Not Make them Any Healthier
Megan McArdle
May 1, 2013
To say she was disturbed by the results would be to understate her reaction.
Hitler’s Strange Afterlife in India
Dilip D’Souza
November 30, 2012
Yet such tempered remarks may understate the significance of the challenge awaiting Krueger.
Washington’s New Punching Bag
Daniel Stone
August 29, 2011
I do not understate the complexity and sensitivity of achieving such a global agreement.
The Crisis We Forgot
Tony Blair
March 3, 2009

Historical Examples of understate

To say that Ailie was delighted, would be to understate the fact very much.
The Red Eric
R.M. Ballantyne
To say that they were dishes for a king is to understate the fact.
Allied Cookery
Grace Glergue Harrison and Gertrude Clergue
The effect of this will be to understate my argument rather than the contrary.
A Revision of the Treaty
John Maynard Keynes
I have been careful rather to understate than exaggerate the case.
'I Believe' and other essays
Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
To say it blew with the force of ten thousand devils is to understate the case.
Diary of a U-Boat Commander
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for understate

understate

verb

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for understate

1824, from under + state (v.). Related: Understated (of fashions, etc., from 1957); understating.