UNDERSTATEMENT Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

understatement

noun

Definition of understatement

as in meiosis

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Dissimilar Words

as in restraint

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Dissimilar Words

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 understatement That’s a bit of an understatement, since these shows likely grossed somewhere in the ballpark of $60,000, which is $343,000 today. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026 To call the structure enormous is an understatement (and there’s an even bigger villa in the works). — Nick Remsen, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2026 That’s the understatement of the day from a Neighborhood Planning Unit member talking about the Formula 1 racing event that will be held on the streets of Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood this Saturday. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 31 July 2026 Hood said capital expenditures in Q1 will exceed $50 billion, but that figure is actually an understatement. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for understatement

Recent Examples of Synonyms for understatement

Noun

Chromosome pairs are also essential for meiosis, the specialized type of cell division that produces sperm and eggs.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 July 2026
The media business always goes through some splitting of cells — meiosis and mitosis — but every industry leader concedes that consolidation is especially needed today.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 30 June 2026

Definition of meiosis

Noun

If the answer is yes, then waiting ceases to be a strategy of restraint and begins to look like gradual erosion of power and strength.

— Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
Meghna Gulzar has a very distinctive voice and an ability to approach difficult subjects with both restraint and intensity.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of restraint

Noun

Iamaleava could have allowed the disparagement to compound, but the starting signal-caller is using it as fuel for a 2026 season where many have the Bruins painted as a potential dark horse.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Her mother, meanwhile, is backed up by her second husband (Kwon), a mild-mannered documentary filmmaker whose profession gives his wife yet more ammunition in her smiling disparagement of Sanghee.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of disparagement

Noun

Tyreke Smith had a good month, but the severity of his hamstring injury could make Harris’ path cleaner.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
Some recalls, Eskin said, are made after companies’ routine testing catches a pathogen before anyone gets sick, while others involve outbreaks that are already underway and vary widely in size and severity.

— Dian Zhang, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of severity

Noun

The relentless state media campaign on the issue often cites prayer leaders who insist the hijab is part of Iranian cultural identity and that women should observe modesty.

— Tim Lister, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
With quick feet, high IQ, and patience, Burkin carries a modesty that endears him to his teammates and coaches.

— Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of modesty

Noun

But only about 25% of participants successfully abstained 100%, a Civic Science analysis found, leaving room for a moderation approach like zebra striping.

— Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026
Experts suggest role modeling moderation, such as eating produce and protein—and a treat here or there, too—can also help a child build truly healthy and sustainable eating habits.

— Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of moderation

Noun

The sheer fact of filming fills a frame, even one composed with quasi-documentary plainness, with a plethora of details of narrative, expressive, aesthetic, intellectual, and historical import.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
To understand why men might have adopted a clothing system that prioritized plainness and conformity over color and change, this book investigates the gradual crystallization of this civic uniform of masculinity.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 June 2026

Definition of plainness

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“Understatement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/understatement. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of understatement

noun

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