play down

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to make little or light of; minimize the importance of

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play down Idioms  

1. Make little of, minimize the importance of, as in A skillful salesman plays down the drawbacks of the product and emphasizes its good features . [First half of 1900s]

2. play down to . Lower one's standards to meet the demands of someone, as in Some stand-up comics deliberately play down to the vulgar taste of their audiences . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

But he appeared to play down the significance of the stockpile, pointing to the damage caused in US-Israeli strikes last June.

From BBC

On other occasions, he has played down the importance of the strait to the U.S. and said its closure is a problem for other nations to solve.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many private-credit fund managers are playing down their exposure to software as fears spread about threats from artificial intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal

US officials on Tuesday played down speculation that distracted air traffic controllers might have contributed to a deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

From Barron's

The probe comes as the bank and its chief executive have sought to play down their ties to Epstein.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• belittle
• gloss over
• minimize
• mute
• soft pedal
• soften
• underplay