underplay

1 act (a role) with great restraint [syn: underact] [ant: overact]

2 play a card lower than (a held high card)

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪ

Noun

1. The act of underplaying.

Verb

1. To play in a subordinate, or in an inferior manner; to underact a part.
2. To play a low card when holding a high one, in the hope of a future advantage.

abate, allay, alleviate, assuage, attemper, bank the fire, bedwarf, belittle, blunt, chasten, constrain, control, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, deprecate, depreciate, detract from, diminish, downplay, dull, dwarf, extenuate, keep within bounds, lay, lenify, lessen, lighten, make light of, make little of, make nothing of, minify, minimize, mitigate, moderate, modulate, obtund, palliate, play down, reduce, reduce the temperature, restrain, set at naught, set little by, slacken, slow down, smother, sober, sober down, soften, stifle, subdue, suppress, tame, temper, think little of, think nothing of, tone down, tune down, weaken