understate
/ˌʌndəˈsteɪt/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈʌndɚstˌet] /ˌʌndərˈsteɪt/ (ame, ipa) · [ˈʌndɚstˌet] /ˌən-dər-ˈstāt How to pronounce understate (audio)/ (ame, mw)
understate — 動詞
- understatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- understateshe / she / it
- understatedpast simple
- understating-ing form
1. to describe facts or a situation using words that make it appear less significan
輕描淡寫
故意把事說得比實際輕微
to describe facts or a situation using words that make it appear less significant or less severe than it truly is, often done to avoid causing worry or attracting negative attention
The company's annual report understated the amount of waste released into the river.
該公司的年度報告輕描淡寫了排入河川的廢棄物量。
understate + noun phrase (amount/number/scale)
Evelyn understated her back pain so her children would not cancel their holiday plans.
Evelyn 對自己的背痛輕描淡寫，好讓孩子們不必取消度假計畫。
understate + [symptom/problem] to avoid worrying others
During the interview, Hoa understated his role in the successful product launch.
面試時，Hoa 對自己在產品成功上市過程中的角色輕描淡寫。
The official warning understated the danger, and many residents chose to stay in their homes.
官方警告輕描淡寫了危險的程度，許多居民因此選擇留在家中。
Yuki understated the difficulty of the exam to keep her classmates from worrying too much.
Yuki 對考試難度輕描淡寫，以免同學們太過擔心。
- downplay
more informal; often used when someone tries to reduce the perceived importance of something ('She downplayed her injury')
- play down
phrasal verb, informal; similar to downplay ('The government played down the risks of the new policy')
- minimize
can imply reducing the actual size or importance rather than just the description, but often overlaps in meaning ('He tried to minimize the impact of his mistake')
- trivialize
stronger negative connotation; suggests making something serious seem unimportant ('The report trivialized the victims' suffering')
- overstate
direct opposite — to describe something as larger, more important, or more serious than it really is
- exaggerate
more common in everyday language; to make something seem larger or worse than it is
文法句型
understate + noun phrase
be understated (passive)
用法筆記
Common in news reports, financial disclosures, and health contexts. The passive form ('the damage was understated') is frequent when the agent is unknown or irrelevant. Distinguish from 'underestimate', which refers to a mistaken judgement rather than a deliberate choice of description.