| VERB | change | play down, background, downplay | understate the importance or quality of |
|---|
| Meaning | understate the importance or quality of. | |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something | |
| Synonyms | background, downplay | |
| Narrower | soft-pedal | play down or obscure / obscure |
| wave off | dismiss as insignificant | |
| Broader | stress, emphasize, emphasise, punctuate, accent, accentuate | To stress, single out as important |
| Opposite | foreground, highlight, spotlight, play up | Move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent |
| Catalan | acomodar | |
| Spanish | acomodar | |