---
title: downplay — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «downplay» in the school dictionary: To downplay something means to make it seem smaller, less important or less serious than it really is. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# downplay

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** it, Downplaying, you, He, his, she · **What happens:** downplay, mean, make, seem, be, talk · **To what, where:** something, it, own success, injury, ankle, nothing · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«downplay» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [downplay in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/downplay.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To downplay something means to make it seem smaller, less important or less serious than it really is.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:m1:1
# text = To downplay something means to make it seem smaller, less important or less serious than it really is.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	downplay	downplay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	csubj	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	seem	seem	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	smaller	small	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	12	advmod	_	_
12	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	15	advmod	_	_
15	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	conj	_	_
16	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
18	really	really	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **downplay** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **make** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **seem** *not said to happen* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | small *property* | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **be** | present | it |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Downplaying your own success means talking about it modestly, so you do not seem to show off.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:m2:1
# text = Downplaying your own success means talking about it modestly, so you do not seem to show off.
1	Downplaying	downplay	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	csubj	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
3	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	success	success	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obl	_	_
9	modestly	modestly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
14	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	seem	seem	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	xcomp	_	_
18	off	off	ADP	RP	_	17	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **downplay** | gerund |  | your own success |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Downplaying |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **talk** *not said to happen* | gerund | Downplaying *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about success; modestly *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about it=Topic |
| 4 | **not** **seem** | present · do-support | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme clause=Attribute |
| 5 | **show off** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He downplayed his injury, but his ankle was badly swollen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x1:1
# text = He downplayed his injury, but his ankle was badly swollen.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	downplayed	downplay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	injury	injury	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	ankle	ankle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
10	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	_
11	swollen	swell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **downplay** | past | He | his injury |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **swell** | past · passive |  | his ankle |  |  |  | badly *property* | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.patient V NP.extent PP.source PP.goal»: subject=Extent |
| 3 | **injure** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom injury «state transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«It was nothing,» she said, downplaying her prize.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x2:1
# text = «It was nothing,» she said, downplaying her prize.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	8	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	downplaying	downplay	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
11	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	prize	prize	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | past | It | nothing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **downplay** | gerund | she *not said here* | her prize |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The company tried to downplay the size of the oil spill.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x3:1
# text = The company tried to downplay the size of the oil spill.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	downplay	downplay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	size	size	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	oil	oil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	spill	spill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | the company |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **downplay** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the company *not said here* | the size of the oil spill |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't downplay a bad headache; tell the nurse.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x4:1
# text = Don't downplay a bad headache; tell the nurse.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	downplay	downplay	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	headache	headache	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
8	tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	nurse	nurse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **downplay** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | a bad headache |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | infinitive | you *not said here* | the nurse |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent nurse=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The team captain downplayed her part in the win.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x5:1
# text = The team captain downplayed her part in the win.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	downplayed	downplay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	win	win	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **downplay** | past | the team captain | captain's part |  | the win |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Understatement is a way of downplaying something on purpose for effect.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x6:1
# text = Understatement is a way of downplaying something on purpose for effect.
1	Understatement	understatement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	downplaying	downplay	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obj	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	effect	effect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Understatement | a way |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **downplay** | gerund | a way *not said here* | something |  | purpose |  | for effect | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mayor downplayed the flood risk, and many people were not ready.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:downplay:x7:1
# text = The mayor downplayed the flood risk, and many people were not ready.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mayor	mayor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	downplayed	downplay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	flood	flood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	risk	risk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
9	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
11	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	ready	ready	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **downplay** | past | the mayor | the flood risk |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **is** | past | many people |  |  |  |  | ready *property* | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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