underplaying

verb

present participle of underplay
1
as in understating

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2
as in overplaying

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for underplaying
  1. understating
  2. enacting
  3. downplaying
  4. mimicking
  5. acting out
  6. imitating
  7. taking on
  8. aping
Verb
  • Recent warnings about the potential destructive power of AI are understating the severity of the situation.
    — Geoffrey Irving, Time, 3 Oct. 2026
  • To call Molly and Frankie aimless would be, somehow, both understating the case and missing it completely.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of understating
Verb
  • In our moment of reckoning, most of the current momentum is going toward enacting social media bans for kids younger than 16.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Let them — especially the new governor, presumably Xavier Becerra — consider enacting new CEQA reforms, holding months of public hearings and ultimately compromising on a deal.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of enacting
Verb
  • Eight states sued OpenAI this week, alleging that the AI company caused severe harm to users, many of them underage, while downplaying the risks of its technology.
    — Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 15 Oct. 2026
  • But in recent months, T-Mobile has been downplaying the satellite service and floating the possibility of working with rival providers.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of downplaying
Verb
  • The twist was that Japanese denim-spinners weren’t mimicking the denims of the Eighties.
    — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The biggest challenges, its designers say, were mimicking the fade from crisp morning rays to bright noon light to a soft evening glow, and creating a sense of depth to conjure the distant sky.
    — Emma Barker, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mimicking
Verb
  • If Graham fails in her bid, she can be forgiven for acting out of loyalty and love for her brother.
    — Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The diagnosis came after the actor learned that his own behavior of acting out dreams could be an early Parkinson's symptom.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of acting out
Verb
  • OpenAI denied intentionally imitating Johansson’s voice and later withdrew the feature.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Speaking of the oversized, the collection’s Handloom Cardigan fits the bill but spares you from imitating a balloon, courtesy of those vertical stripes (also known as the oldest optical trick in the fashion book).
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of imitating
Verb
  • In the case of Yemen, the ground fighters inside the country who are taking on the Houthis are deeply divided and fought each other as recently as January.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The sharp selloff in bonds has given investors a rare opportunity to lock in stock-market-like returns without taking on the risk that comes with equities, investment advisors to the ultra-wealthy told CNBC.
    — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of taking on
Verb
  • Critics and fanboy media thrashed Supergirl not just for its Guardians of the Galaxy touchstones, but also for aping Mad Max.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 29 June 2026
  • For Shorts, the label will appear as a small overlay at the bottom of the video itself, although that will add to the already cluttered look of the TikTok-aping Shorts.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026
Definition of aping
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.

Browse Nearby Words

underplayed
underplaying
underplays
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Cite this Entry

“Underplaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underplaying. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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