understatement
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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By the end, the hyperbolic term “madman” seems like an understatement for Irwin’s subjects, many of whom are, at a minimum, fantasists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Zheng Qinwen described her US Open third-round comeback win over Madison Keys as a "very dramatic match" - but that is somewhat of an understatement.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
When Dolly Parton sang, “Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living,” it was an understatement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
It would be an understatement to say that the site’s library of films available for logging, rating and reviewing is extensive.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
“This evacuation center is at capacity,” which is an understatement if ever there was one.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
As for the camp factor, many massive understatements in the script will trigger appreciative howls of laughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
He still brakes for bad puns and double-negative understatements, but he avoids the kind of under-metabolized research that sometimes alienated his early readers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
It was one of the greatest understatements of all time.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
Those are understatements akin to calling the Amazon a creek or the Grand Canyon a ditch.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2022
I was kept busy devising plausible confirmation of surprising understatements.
From The Professor's Mystery by Wells Hastings
Vocabulary lists containing understatement
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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The Giver
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Rhetoric
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