Downplay
Downplay verb - To reduce in apparent importance.
Usage example: he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success
Exaggerate is an antonym for downplay.
Nearby Word: downplaying
Exaggerate
Exaggerate verb - Enlarge beyond bounds or the truth.
Usage example: tended to romanticize and exaggerate this `gracious Old South' imagery
Downplay is an antonym for exaggerate.
Both words in one sentence
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Fan works set in Middle-earth may downplay or exaggerate the beauty of the elves.
Source: Inhumanly Beautiful Race - They also exaggerate the romantic aspect with Mann's character, who is in about a third of the movie and somewhat downplay the relationship between Sandler and Rogen which makes up the bulk of the film.
Source: Never Trust A Trailer / Film
Cite this Source
Exaggerate and Downplay. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/downplay/exaggerate
Downplay & Exaggerate. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/downplay/exaggerate>.
Exaggerate or Downplay. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/downplay/exaggerate.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "downplay" and "exaggerate" have occurred on timeline