understatement
Syllables: un·der·state·mentUK/ˌʌndəˈsteɪtmənt//ˌʌndɚˈsteɪtmənt/
understatement noun: a figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is, either through phrasing or lack of emphasis, often for ironic effect.
Noun
understatement (usually uncountable, plural understatements)
- A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is, either through phrasing or lack of emphasis, often for ironic effect.
- A master of understatement
- And that mode of expression is very demurring and self-deprecating. Victorian English was all about understatement.2004, Rowan Manahan, Where's My Oasis?:, page 158
- Synonyms:
- meiosis
- An instance of such phrasing or lack of emphasis; an incomplete statement.
- Now that's an understatement.
- Synonyms:
- trivialization
- Antonyms:
- exaggeration, overstatement
- An incomplete disclosure that intentionally withholds relevant information.
understatement meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Kannada and Gujarati
understatement in Tamil
- பொய்யுரை, உள்ளதை மறைத்துக் கூறல்
understatement in Urdu
- کم بیانی
understatement in Kannada
- ನ್ಯೂನೋಕ್ತಿ
understatement in Gujarati
- અલ્પોક્તિ
Examples of understatement in a sentence
- She is the queen of understatement: she understated her critique masterfully.
- To call him a flaming homosexual would be an understatement, but I think he acts that way just to see people react.
- To say that Midorima turned a billion shades of red would be an understatement.
Synonyms of understatement
Antonyms
Forms of understatement
| plural | understatements |
|---|
Origin of understatement
From under- + statement or understate + -ment.
Words formed from understatement
Words that rhyme with understatement
Questions about understatement
- What does understatement mean?
- Understatement means a figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is, either through phrasing or lack of emphasis, often for ironic effect.
- What is understatement in Tamil?
- Understatement in Tamil is பொய்யுரை, உள்ளதை மறைத்துக் கூறல். See Understatement meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is understatement?
- Understatement is a noun.
- How do you pronounce understatement?
- Understatement is pronounced /ˌʌndəˈsteɪtmənt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of understatement?
- The plural of understatement is understatements.
Words near understatement in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: understatement (page history and authors); understatement (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); understatement (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); understatement (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); understatement (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Paul2520-understatement.wav.
Cite this entry: “understatement.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/understatement. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.