PLAYED DOWN Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

played down

verb

past tense of play down

as in dismissed

to express scornfully one's low opinion of out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in minimized

to reduce in apparent importance if you play down your part in the project, you won't get the credit you deserve

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of played down Russia's government played down concerns Monday sparked by media reports that a female scientist in Siberia might have died of exposure to the plague after a lab accident. — Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026 The hearing officer noted that Marx, in a July podcast interview, had played down the violations and claimed the campaign was aware of them before the complaints began to mount. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 2 Oct. 2026 Trottier played down the middle in both games in his first rookie tournament and handled himself admirably. — Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 With the Kroenke deal, the Angels will plug into a much larger sports and media ecosystem that should benefit the team that has always played down the road in Orange County in the shadow of the region’s beloved Los Angeles Dodgers franchise. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 1 Sep. 2026 But Blanche played down concerns that the erosion of judicial trust could impede his efforts to advance his agenda. — Alanna Durkin Richer, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026 Miami coach Mario Cristobal played down preseason hype around his team. — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 17 Aug. 2026 The industry is one of the key drivers of Indian economic growth and middle-class expansion, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has played down job displacement concerns. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026 Iranian state television earlier played down the outcome of the Iran-Oman discussions, citing a person familiar with the matter as saying an agreement between Tehran and Muscat would not necessarily mean the strait would open immediately. — Bloomberg, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for played down

Verb

Williams argued that without a viable federal copyright claim, Hugo’s state-law claims involving breach of fiduciary duty and an incomplete accounting should also be dismissed, leaving him free to pursue those claims separately in state court.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2026
Last weekend in Highland, Michigan, Rogers dismissed El-Sayed's attempts to whittle away at his GOP base of support.

— Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of dismissed

Verb

Profit is simply what remains after wages are held down, taxes are minimized, and costs are pushed onto workers, communities, and the environment.

— Christopher Marquis, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Thornton has minimized the relevance of the previous paragraph.

— Sam McDowell October 7, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of minimized

Verb

The weather service canceled the flood watch for nearly all the Kansas City forecast area because the threat of additional heavy rain had diminished.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
One can see this when a paint’s color appears diminished and faded.

— Wendy S. Walters, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of diminished

Verb

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly downplayed settler violence, tried to cast doubt on the attack.

— Dana Karni, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
The president downplayed the criticism within his party over the agreement, which would supply the United States and global marketplaces with diesel equivalent to only a little more than one day of global demand.

— Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of downplayed

Verb

The documentary came off iPlayer last year after its window ran down.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Hours before, a line ran down 65th Street and around the block with fans trying to score a ticket to the world premiere at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026