understatement

American  

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

noun

• understatements
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• understatements
  plural

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

See Examples For:

understatement understatements

When Dolly Parton sang, “Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living,” it was an understatement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

It would be an understatement to say that the site’s library of films available for logging, rating and reviewing is extensive.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

To say that $10bn would blow a hole in the accounts is an understatement.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

To say he’ll be missed by investors, and many others, is an understatement.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

“This evacuation center is at capacity,” which is an understatement if ever there was one.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

As for the camp factor, many massive understatements in the script will trigger appreciative howls of laughter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

It was one of the greatest understatements of all time.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025

“Obviously, they’re going through some of their own issues,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said Tuesday in one of the understatements of the college football season.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 14, 2023

In the world of understatements, saying there’s a lot of television out there has to rank among the boldest.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2022

In his presence conversation became pure and colourless and full of understatements, and—just as if he was a real clergyman—neither men nor boys ever forgot that he was there.

From The Longest Journey by E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster