World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English DictionariesUnderstatement
/ˈʌndərˌsteɪtmənt/Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
The act of presenting something as less important or serious than it actually is.
"Saying that the hurricane caused a bit of damage was a gross understatement." - 2
A statement that minimizes the severity or importance of a situation.
"Her comment about the project being 'a little challenging' was a gross understatement given the difficulties we faced."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
The term 'understatement' originates from the combination of 'under-', meaning 'below' or 'less than', and 'statement', derived from the Old French 'estatement', which has roots in Latin 'statuere', meaning 'to set up'. The term evolved in the English language during the 19th century to describe a rhetorical device that intentionally presents something as less significant than it is.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Understatement"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "Understatement" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
sous-estimation
Transliteration: su ɛstimaʃjɔ̃
"Dire que le projet était 'un peu difficile' était une sous-estimation."
Untertreibung
Transliteration: ʊntɐˈtʁaɪbʊŋ
"Zu sagen, dass der Sturm 'ein bisschen Schaden angerichtet hat', war eine grobe Untertreibung."
sottovalutazione
Transliteration: sottovalutatsjone
"Dire che il progetto era 'un po' difficile' era una sottovalutazione."
subestimación
Transliteration: subestimación
"Decir que el huracán causó 'un poco de daño' fue una subestimación grosera."
subestimação
Transliteration: subestimação
"Dizer que o projeto era 'um pouco desafiador' foi uma subestimação."
कम आंका जाना
Transliteration: kam aankaa jaana
"यह कहना कि तूफान ने 'थोड़ी क्षति' पहुंचाई, एक गंभीर कम आंका जाना था।"
轻描淡写
Transliteration: qīng miáo dàn xiě
"说飓风造成了'一点损失'是一个严重的轻描淡写。"
과소평가
Transliteration: gwaseopyeongga
"허리케인이 '조금 피해를 입혔다'고 말하는 것은 심각한 과소평가였다."
過小評価
Transliteration: kashōhyōka
"ハリケーンが「少しの被害をもたらした」と言うのは、ひどい過小評価だった。"
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