to play something down
1play something down — MAKE LIGHT OF, make little of, gloss over, de emphasize, downplay, understate; soft pedal, tone down, diminish, trivialize, underrate, underestimate, undervalue; disparage, belittle, scoff at, sneer at, shrug off; …
2play something down — pretend that something is less important than it in fact is. → play …
3play something down — Syn: make light of, make little of, gloss over, downplay, understate, soft pedal, diminish, trivialize …
4play sth down — UK US play sth down Phrasal Verb with play({{}}/pleɪ/ verb ► to say that something is not important, especially because you do not want it to be known publicly: »Insiders are playing the matter down, stressing the investigation is industry wide… …
5play something up — EMPHASIZE, accentuate, call attention to, point up, underline, highlight, spotlight, foreground, feature, stress, accent. → play * * * emphasize the extent or importance of something the mystery surrounding his death was played up by the media *… …
6cry someone/something down — (dated) DISPARAGE, run down, belittle, make light of, denigrate, decry, deprecate, depreciate, play down, trivialize, minimize; archaic hold cheap. → cry * * * dated disparage or belittle someone or something …
7play down — verb understate the importance or quality of he played down his royal ancestry • Syn: ↑background, ↑downplay • Ant: ↑play up, ↑foreground (for: ↑background) …
8play — verb 1》 engage in games or other activities for enjoyment rather than for a serious or practical purpose. ↘amuse oneself by engaging in imaginative pretence. ↘(play with) treat inconsiderately for one s own amusement: she likes to play… …
9play — 1. verb 1) the children played with toys Syn: amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun, relax, occupy oneself, frolic, romp; informal mess about/around 2) I used to play football Syn: take part in …
10Something Wicked This Way Comes (novel) — Something Wicked This Way Comes   …
