as in to minimize
to reduce in apparent importance
you're at a point in your career where you can de-emphasize your academic record and emphasize your work experience
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Recent Examples of de-emphasize
Cyberlink de-emphasizes the automatic, easy movie project tools, instead focusing on serious full-power video editing.
—
PC Magazine, 15 Nov. 2025
The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
The base Microsoft 365 subscription itself has become increasingly essential as Microsoft de-emphasizes standalone Office purchases and makes cloud integration more central to document workflows.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
PC Magazine, 15 Nov. 2025
The changes have included an overhaul of Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has de-emphasized a listing of relevant web links in its results and increasingly highlighted AI overviews and conversational responses provided through an AI mode.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
The base Microsoft 365 subscription itself has become increasingly essential as Microsoft de-emphasizes standalone Office purchases and makes cloud integration more central to document workflows.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de-emphasize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for de-emphasize
Verb
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But despite assurances that the impact on businesses has been minimized, some groups still worried that the AI bill — despite its sections on workforce development and increasing AI knowledge — will ultimately create new burdens for businesses that could hamper innovation efforts.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
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While Peters’ doctor had minimized the possibility of measles, the principal was concerned.—
Mary Beth Sheridan,
CNN Money,
17 May 2026
Verb
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By and large, Republicans were also reluctant to weigh in on Netanyahu’s proposal, and several downplayed the impact in interviews with the Washington Examiner.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
16 May 2026
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Bob’s family regularly told him that, of course, but Bob always downplayed it.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
Verb
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The court recommended that the petition be dismissed, and that the organizations be given one month to submit the employee lists.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
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Even the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence boom were laid by the NSF in the 1980s and 1990s, when neural networks were a backwater dismissed by mainstream computer science.—
Gautam Mukunda,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Old school with a gift for storytelling, Simon was not one to soft-pedal his mentees.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
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This loud-and-proud version of Sonny certainly feels progressive, but in a different way it soft-pedals Sonny’s complications.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“De-emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-emphasize. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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