Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
play down — (something) to try to make something seem less serious than it really is. He played down the seriousness of his condition because he didn t want anyone to worry. It s a sensitive issue, and they want to play it down until after the elections … New idioms dictionary
play|down — «PLAY DOWN», noun. (in Canada) a play off … Useful english dictionary
play down — [v] pretend as if something were unimportant belittle, deemphasize, gloss over*, hold back*, make light of*, make little of*, minimize, mute, restrain, soften, soft pedal*, underplay, underrate; concepts 49,59,63 Ant. blow up, build up, explode,… … New thesaurus
play down — ► play down disguise the importance or significance of. Main Entry: ↑play … English terms dictionary
play down — index disparage Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
play down — verb understate the importance or quality of he played down his royal ancestry • Syn: ↑background, ↑downplay • Ant: ↑play up, ↑foreground (for: ↑background) … Useful english dictionary
Play-Down — Das Play down (auch Play out genannt) ist ein Ausscheidungskampf in einem Sportwettbewerb, durch den der Abstiegskampf entschieden wird. Genau wie das Play off folgt das Play down auf die Hauptrunde, deren Abschluss Tabelle die teilnehmenden… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Play-down — Das Play down (auch Play out genannt) ist ein Ausscheidungskampf in einem Sportwettbewerb, durch den der Abstiegskampf entschieden wird. Genau wie das Play off folgt das Play down auf die Hauptrunde, deren Abschluss Tabelle die teilnehmenden… … Deutsch Wikipedia
play down — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms play down : present tense I/you/we/they play down he/she/it plays down present participle playing down past tense played down past participle played down to try to make a problem or difficult situation seem… … English dictionary
play down — PHRASAL VERB If you play down something, you try to make people believe that it is not particularly important. [V P n (not pron)] Western diplomats have played down the significance of the reports... [V P n (not pron)] He plays down rumours that… … English dictionary
play down — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. depreciate, minimize, downplay. See detraction. play down to II (Roget s IV) v. Syn. belittle, hold down, hold back, minimize; see restrain 1 . III (Roget s Thesaurus II) I verb To make less emphatic… … English dictionary for students
