play down
verb1
Idiomatic To make or attempt to make something seem less important, likely, or obvious.
- The essay attempts to play down the role slavery had in the Civil War.
- The senator played down the threat of a recession.
2 more examples
- During the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, Miguel played down his immigrant status by removing Chicano patois from his speech and adopting the nickname "Mike."
- 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: