underplay

under- +‎ play

• Rhymes: -eɪ

underplay

1. The act of underplaying.

underplay (third-person singular simple present underplays, present participle underplaying, simple past and past participle underplayed)

1. (transitive) To play in a subordinate, or in an inferior manner; to underact a part.
2. (transitive) To make something seem less important than it really is.
   • 1985 August 17, Pam Mitchell, “Don't Say Class Until You Mean It”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 6, page 4:

     As a working-class person I want to tell Tucker and any other gay and lesbian activists who call themselves socialists and so should certainly know better, that when they underplay survival issues and don't acknowledge the faultline under their feet that is class in this society, it hurts me right in the gut.

3. (transitive, card games) To play a low card when holding a high one, in the hope of a future advantage.