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
The chances of a life as complex and purposefully incongruent as Madonna’s fitting into one feature-length film — even two or three — are slim, and even that’s an understatement.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
He paused to give emphasis to his understatement.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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
“Obviously, they’re going through some of their own issues,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said Tuesday in one of the understatements of the college football season.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 14, 2023
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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