PLAYS DOWN Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

plays down

verb

present tense third-person singular of play down

as in dismisses

to express scornfully one's low opinion of out of sheer envy, she would always play down her sister's accomplishments

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in minimizes

to reduce in apparent importance if you play down your part in the project, you won't get the credit you deserve

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of plays down If any lingering question of home-court advantage persisted, it was made crystal clear in the final 30 seconds who had the biggest backing, as Barclays erupted in celebration of the Liberty’s game-winning plays down the stretch. — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Wang plays down the potential for renegade robots to wreak havoc. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 July 2026 Even for the Kremlin, which often plays down painful setbacks, the stark reality has become hard to sidestep. — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 29 June 2026 Rhy made some huge plays down the stretch. — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 10 June 2026 But, powered by veteran guard CJ McCollum and some gutsy defensive plays down the stretch, the Hawks won 107-106 to even the series at one game apiece. — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 21 Apr. 2026 The Hornets played great and made those plays down the stretch. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026 Santos, who scored a career-high 31 points in the Warriors win over Brooklyn on Wednesday, made several big plays down the stretch. — ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026 Valanciunas is slow-footed and plays down the floor in pick-and-roll coverage, leaving the Nuggets more vulnerable to pick-and-pop bigs and other ripple effects of their help rotations around the floor. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plays down

Verb

After roll call and then assisting a man who sought to change his address, Judge Cho dismisses the other immigrants without speaking to them individually.

— Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Aug. 2026
The Heritage Foundation’s Yenor dismisses the notion that elite sports pose any threat to male fertility, observing to SciAm that, since 1990, Super Bowl–winning quarterbacks have had a higher than average number of children.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of dismisses

Verb

In order to keep playing shows these past few years, Frampton has devoted himself to an intensive workout regime that minimizes the impact of IBM.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
Spreading the drawdown across multiple stable caverns at all four storage sites minimizes sudden pressure drops and fluid turbulence.

— Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of minimizes

Verb

Take, for example, the watershed that runs down Clear Creek Canyon below Lookout Mountain, Mount Vernon and Rainbow Hill.

— Megan Schrader, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2026
The Reds rallied from three runs down in the eighth inning after White Sox starter Sean Burke allowed only one run on three hits in seven innings.

— CBS News, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of runs down

Verb

Analysts suggest this may reflect that as the Fed gradually downplays forward guidance, market sensitivity to Fed wording—as well as the Fed's overall influence over markets—could be waning.

— , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
In her role as well as elsewhere, Kalle downplays the explicit homophobia that might have rendered this a more simplistic allegory, making Asla less a figure of interfering jealousy than a woman who simply doesn’t want to be abandoned yet again.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 July 2026

Definition of downplays

Verb

Once the journey time increases, the value proposition diminishes and the project is less likely to succeed.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that for every dollar added to the deficit, private investment loses 33 cents, which diminishes economic growth and wages over time.

— Medora Lee, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026