understate

understate
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 casualty lists understate the extent of the disaster.
[1815-25; UNDER- + STATE]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • understate — 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

  • Understate — Un der*state , v. t. To state or represent less strongly than may be done truthfully. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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

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

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

  • understate — [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

  • understate — [[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

  • understate — 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

  • understate — 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

  • understate — verb Understate is used with these nouns as the object: ↑case, ↑extent …   Collocations dictionary

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