play down — minimise the importance or seriousness of something
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
To deliberately make something seem less important, serious, or bad than it really is, often to avoid attention or concern.
Say it like a native
Textbook The spokesperson sought to minimise the significance of the incident.
Native The spokesperson played down the incident.
'Play down' is the natural verb for downplaying; 'minimise the significance' is formal/written.
Pattern: play down + noun/gerund
In use
- The company tried to play down the impact of the data breach to avoid panic among customers.communication
- In my opinion, some governments tend to play down environmental issues because they fear it might affect the economy or public confidence.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He played down of the risks.
✓ He played down the risks. / He played the risks down.
'Play down' takes the object directly — no 'of'.
Common collocations
play down + seriousness— the risks, the threat, his role, expectations
Don't confuse it
'Play down' is different from simply 'ignoring' something; it means you acknowledge it but try to make it seem less important. It is also less formal than 'downplay', which is often used in written or formal contexts.