understate — UK US /ˌʌndəˈsteɪt/ verb [T] ACCOUNTING ► to give an amount as less than it really is: »The company s conservative accounting methods mean that results are actually understated. »understate costs/profits ► to make something seem less serious or… … Financial and business terms
Understate — Un der*state , v. t. To state or represent less strongly than may be done truthfully. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
understate — index discount (minimize), distort, minimize, misrepresent Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
understate — (v.) 1824, from UNDER (Cf. under) + STATE (Cf. state) (v.). Related: Understated (of fashions, etc., from 1957); understating … Etymology dictionary
understate — ► VERB ▪ describe or represent (something) as being smaller or less significant than it really is. DERIVATIVES understatement noun … English terms dictionary
understate — [un΄dər stāt′] vt. understated, understating 1. to make a weaker statement of than is warranted by truth, accuracy, or importance; state too weakly 2. to state, express, etc. in a style that is restrained and often makes use of irony or litotes… … English World dictionary
understate — [[t]ʌ̱ndə(r)ste͟ɪt[/t]] understates, understating, understated VERB If you understate something, you describe it in a way that suggests that it is less important or serious than it really is. [V n] The government chooses deliberately to… … English dictionary
understate — UK [ˌʌndə(r)ˈsteɪt] / US [ˌʌndərˈsteɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms understate : present tense I/you/we/they understate he/she/it understates present participle understating past tense understated past participle understated to say that… … English dictionary
understate — transitive verb Date: 1824 1. to represent as less than is the case < understate taxable income > 2. to state or present with restraint especially for effect • understatement noun … New Collegiate Dictionary
understate — understatement /un deuhr stayt meuhnt, un deuhr stayt /, n. /un deuhr stayt /, v.t., understated, understating. to state or represent less strongly or strikingly than the facts would bear out; set forth in restrained, moderate, or weak terms: The … Universalium
understate — verb Understate is used with these nouns as the object: ↑case, ↑extent … Collocations dictionary
