1[countableC]EXPRESS a statement that is not strong enough to express how good, bad, impressive etc something really is 不充分的陈述,轻描淡写的陈述
To say the movie was bad is an understatement.
说这部电影不好还算是客气的。
‘It wasn’t very easy to find the house.’ ‘That’s got to be the understatement of the year!’
“这房子不是很好找。” “那可是说得太轻了!”
2[uncountableU]DESCRIBE the practice of making something seem to have less of a particular quality than it really has 淡化,低调
with understatement
‘We have not done quite well enough, ’ Macmillan said, with characteristic understatement.
“我们做得还不够好。”麦克米伦以他特有的低调态度说道。
Examples from the Corpus
understatement• To say that I was surprised by this state of affairs would be an understatement.• To say I was surprised would be an understatement.• To say that Reba Cooley presented a strikingappearance would have been an understatement of ridiculousproportions.• To suggest that Niagara was an obsession with him is an understatement.• We had had a superb day's climbing, and to say his death was tragic is an understatement.• That's the biggest understatement of all time!• To say that his situation was difficult would be a decidedunderstatement.• She was conscious of being a misfit, and that was a great understatement.
is an understatement• To say that the teachingstaff were not Anglo-Catholicis an understatement.• To say she came gingerly is an understatement.• To suggest that Niagara was an obsession with him is an understatement.• Oddis an understatement of classic proportions, but then MR James is a very understatedwriter.• To say that Crenshaw is off the beatenpathis an understatement.• Well, I am no medical man, but that is an understatement.• We had had a superb day's climbing, and to say his death was tragic is an understatement.• To say Link Wray is the most important and influentialrockguitarist of the past 40 years is an understatement.
ADJECTIVE | PHRASESADJECTIVE➤gross, massive, vast極保守的說法◇'A little strange' is a gross understatement.“有一點兒奇怪”絕對是輕描淡寫。➤typical典型的低調說法◇with typical British understatement用典型的英國式低調說法PHRASES➤a bit of an understatement, something of an understatement有些輕描淡寫▸➤the understatement of the century, the understatement of the year (bothinformal) 本世紀/本年度最委婉的說法◇To say he wasn't amused must be the understatement of the year.說他沒有被逗樂肯定是本年度最委婉的說法。