Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A disclosure or statement that is less than complete.
- n. Restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect.
- n. Restraint in artistic expression.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act of understating. That which is understated; a statement of less than the full truth.
Wiktionary
- n. a disclosure or statement that is less than complete
- n. restraint or lack of emphasis, especially for ironic effect
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The act of understating, or the condition of being understated; that which is understated; a statement below the truth.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said
Examples
“In the end, Mr. Castro, 34, opted for what he described as understatement: pink eye shadow, a bright pink V-neck shirt and intermittent outbursts of tears.”
The Huffington Post: New Obstancle For Gays Seeking Asylum In America
“Business Standard Taxman says DLF diverted funds, questions role of auditors The I-T authorities have slapped a tax liability of Rs 300-400 crore on realty leader DLF over what they called understatement of income and fund diversion by the company.”
The Wall Street Journal: India News Digest: Barter Trade Catches Up in India
“The word "understatement" was used a number of times during the call when Reid discussed his trip.”
“The understatement is significant, even though values beyond the 75th year are discounted by a large amount.”
Milton Friedman on Social Security, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“The understatement is significant, even though values beyond the 75th year are discounted by”
The Budget Debate, VI, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“I might even be engaging in understatement rather than hyperbole on that last bit.”
“More accurately, Ludwig Lewisohn observed in understatement that he “did not bear the glory that had come to him with equanimity or ease.””
“In China's high-context, morally-relative cultural universe, "understatement" -- i.e., knowing when to turn a blind eye to transgression -- is both a skill of advancement and contributor to social order.”
“The appellate court's rejection of this argument relied in part upon what the British call "understatement" --”
“The appellate court's rejection of this argument relied in part upon what the British call "understatement"-”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘understatement’.
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-ments aplenty
The stranger, the better.
battlement, devilment, ailment, dismemberment, embezzlement, blandishment, entanglement, engorgement, embankment, elopement, disgruntlement, hutment and 77 more...
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Amalgamations
Words that have been smashed together.
keystone, touchstone, footprint, thunderhead, seesaw, textbook, leftovers, watchword, afterbirth, fieldwork, outcast, statesman and 148 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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nail01
sentimental, eloquent, inevitable, pretentious, verbose, aptly, stoically, grandiloquent, valedictory, assiduous, exorbitant, wreaked and 154 more...
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Idioms or Phrases or "expressions"
like nobody's bui..., soap up, plug away, country club, horse whisperer, cease and desist, eye of the beholder, small-claims court, nut job, heebie-jeebies, hole in the wall, black-tie and 101 more...
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INTERP - VOCABULARY
The vocabulary of conference interpreting. I commend this list to those who want to know more about the profession and to those who wish to organize their knowledge about the profession. To aspirin...
retour language, A-language, B-language, C-language, relay language, take sy on relay, language booth, booth meeting, mic, mike, mission, freelance interpr... and 2086 more...
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SAT Literary Terms
allegory, allusion, ambiguity, anecdote, apostrophe, autobiography, biography, characterization, climax, comedy, conclusion, conflict and 37 more...
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Rhetorical devices
How to write that killer speech.
alliteration, allusion, amplification, anacoluthon, anadiplosis, analogy, anaphora, antanagoge, antimetabole, antiphrasis, antithesis, apophasis and 48 more...
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It is not what it seems
Use your imagination.
simile, metaphor, euphemism, oxymoron, hyperbole, irony, allusion, allegory, fable, parable, apologue, sarcasm and 10 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for understatement.
uselessness Understatement is always best. Jan 25, 2007