understate

  • 1understate — UK US /ˌʌndəˈsteɪt/ verb [T] ACCOUNTING ► to give an amount as less than it really is: »The company s conservative accounting methods mean that results are actually understated. »understate costs/profits ► to make something seem less serious or… …

    Financial and business terms

  • 2Understate — Un der*state , v. t. To state or represent less strongly than may be done truthfully. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3understate — index discount (minimize), distort, minimize, misrepresent Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4understate — (v.) 1824, from UNDER (Cf. under) + STATE (Cf. state) (v.). Related: Understated (of fashions, etc., from 1957); understating …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 5understate — ► VERB ▪ describe or represent (something) as being smaller or less significant than it really is. DERIVATIVES understatement noun …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6understate — [un΄dər stāt′] vt. understated, understating 1. to make a weaker statement of than is warranted by truth, accuracy, or importance; state too weakly 2. to state, express, etc. in a style that is restrained and often makes use of irony or litotes… …

    English World dictionary

  • 7understate — [[t]ʌ̱ndə(r)ste͟ɪt[/t]] understates, understating, understated VERB If you understate something, you describe it in a way that suggests that it is less important or serious than it really is. [V n] The government chooses deliberately to… …

    English dictionary

  • 8understate — UK [ˌʌndə(r)ˈsteɪt] / US [ˌʌndərˈsteɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms understate : present tense I/you/we/they understate he/she/it understates present participle understating past tense understated past participle understated to say that… …

    English dictionary

  • 9understate — transitive verb Date: 1824 1. to represent as less than is the case < understate taxable income > 2. to state or present with restraint especially for effect • understatement noun …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 10understate — understatement /un deuhr stayt meuhnt, un deuhr stayt /, n. /un deuhr stayt /, v.t., understated, understating. to state or represent less strongly or strikingly than the facts would bear out; set forth in restrained, moderate, or weak terms: The …

    Universalium