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WORDNET DICTIONARY
THESAURUS

RELATED WORDS : back down bargain down baseball play basketball play batten down bear down bear down on bear down upon beat down bed down belt down blow down bog down boil down bolt down bow down bowed down break down bring down broken down brush down buckle down bunk down burn down call down calm down camp down cascade down cast down child's play choke down chop down clamp down clamp down on climb down close down come down come down on cool down count down crack down crack down on cut down dash down deep down die down doss down double play down down at the heel down easter down feather down in the mouth down pat down payment down quark down syndrome down the drain down the stairs down town down under drag down dramatic play draw play dress down dressing down drink down drop down duck down dwindle down ebb down face down fall down fight down flag down flap down flump down flush down football play force play foul play freeze down garbage down get down go down go down on goose down grind down gun down hampshire down hand down handed down hands down hanging down have down hold down hoot down hose down hunker down hunkered down hunt down in play john l. h. down jot down jumping up and down keep down kick down kip down knock down knuckle down lay down lay down the law let down letting down lie down live down load down loaded down look down on look down upon low down mark down match play medal play melt down miracle play morality play mow down mystery play nail down narrow down out of play pare down passing play passion play peg down period of play pin down pipe down place down plank down play play a joke on play a trick on play along play around play around with play back play ball play by ear play dumb play false play group play havoc with play hooky play it by ear play list play off play on play on words play out play possum play reading play safe play the game play the market play therapy play up play up to play with fire plonk down plump down plunk down pour down power play press down press down on pull down puppet play push down put down quiet down rain down ram down ratchet down rattle down remain down roll down rope down round down rub down run down running play safety squeeze play sag down satyr play scale down send down set down settle down shadow play shake down shoot down shout down shower down shut down simmer down sit down sit down strike sit down with sleek down slick down slide down slim down slow down slowing down sluice down split down sponge down squeeze play stamp down stand down stare down steady down step down stepping down strike down strip down stroke play suicide squeeze play swan's down swill down swoop down upon take down take lying down talk down tamp down tear down tearing down throw down thumbs down tie down tone down toned down touch down track down tramp down trap play tread down trim down triple play tune down turn down turn thumbs down turn upside down up and down upside down vote down wash down water down watered down wear down weigh down weighed down weight down weighted down whack down whittle down wolf down word play write down written down

WORDNET DICTIONARY

Verb play down has 1 sense

• play down(v = verb.change) background, downplay - understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry"
is one way to accent, accentuate, emphasise, emphasize, punctuate, stress
Antonym: play up
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

THESAURUS

play down

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, mute, obtund, palliate, reduce, reduce the temperature, restrain, set at naught, set little by, slacken, slow down, smother, sober, sober down, soft-pedal, soften, stifle, subdue, suppress, tame, temper, think little of, think nothing of, tone down, tune down, underplay, weaken

For further exploring for "play down" in Webster Dictionary Online