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third-person singular simple present plays down, present participle playing down, simple past and past participle played down
(idiomatic, transitive) To make or attempt to make something seem less important, likely, or obvious. quotations examples
Reports that the project is in trouble have been circulating for many months and have been played down by officials.
2019 October, Dan Harvey, “HS2 costs rise as schedule slips”, in Modern Railways, page 8