How to Use downplay in a Sentence

downplay

verb
  • Athletes often downplay their injuries.
  • But even that may downplay the risk.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 June 2026
  • Don’t let fear downplay your sparkle.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 June 2026
  • Of course, Judge tried to downplay it.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 24 May 2026
  • Stop downplaying gifts that were meant to be seen.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Some have downplayed the AI link.
    — ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
  • These folks just look good, and there’s no point in trying to downplay that.
    — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 6 Aug. 2023
  • These folks just look good, and there’s no point in trying to downplay that.
    — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 3 Aug. 2023
  • As the virus was spreading, so was the message to downplay it.
    — oregonlive, 21 Dec. 2020
  • That subplot may end in heartbreak, yet none of it is downplayed.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2023
  • Some activists and former aides have tried to downplay their plans.
    — Elizabeth Dias, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024
  • The Times itself downplayed her win.
    — Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
  • So most of these apps actively downplay full-screen video, and users seem to like that.
    — Clive Thompson, Wired, 10 Mar. 2021
  • In the short term, Putin may see it as the best way to downplay the crisis and move on.
    — Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, Foreign Affairs, 6 July 2023
  • The detective seemed to downplay the crimes.
    — Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 31 May 2026
  • At the time, Bill Self downplayed those issues.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Both sides downplayed the Free Press report.
    — Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Yuma has been wise not to downplay its heritage in its quest for the trendy tourist dollar.
    — Sam McManis, Sacramento Bee, 25 Jan. 2024
  • The episode went viral, and both the player and coach addressed it and downplayed it.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 June 2026
  • But there is no doubt that there is more hedging and downplaying than doubling down.
    — Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025
  • But don’t let the overall iconic nature of these events downplay them.
    — Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 22 June 2022
  • Officials on all sides, though, downplay analogies to the past.
    — Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2023
  • But critics have accused them of downplaying the risks.
    — CBS News, 12 June 2026
  • And not only downplayed but dismissed, in some cases, buried.
    — Scott Pelley, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Focusing on the center of the cone downplays the impact of a storm.
    — Yacob Reyes, Axios, 25 Sep. 2024
  • But that kind of disruption is quieter than mass layoffs, which is why it gets downplayed.
    — David Stout, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Depp testified that Heard had clocked him in the jaw, and was trying to downplay it.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 20 Apr. 2022
  • The government downplayed the text to her sister.
    — John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 18 Dec. 2025
  • Duane Brown saw no need to downplay what’s ahead for the New York Jets.
    — Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 22 Dec. 2022
  • Solomon, whose bank is playing a key role in several of the deals, downplayed those concerns.
    — Hugh Son, CNBC, 2 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'downplay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: