How To Use Understate In A Sentence

Some rooms were once first-floor barns and feature original timber and stone in very modern but understated designs.
To say she was superstitious was an understatement - she would book every single Friday 13 th off work, and any day that looked inauspicious on her horoscope.
The implications of the refusal of the hand are clear and yet beautifully understated.
To say that her resignation was a shock would be an understatement - it caused panic.
The sequence is thus all the more powerful for its brevity and understatement.

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It has been long known as a patrician, white-shoe firm with an air so understated and secretive that at least one former exec likened it to working at the CIA.
It was quiet and strong and understated and open-hearted: all qualities which define this character. Lenny Kravitz to Play Cinna in Hunger Games
They both have a powerful sense of humour and an understated wit that makes you look very carefully at what's on the page in case you miss anything.
As an actor, Poitier was quite effective in his understated, quietly confident way.
One final piece of understated showmanship: when the band came back for the encore, they straggled on in a seemingly random fashion.
The chemistry between De Niro and Grodin, a solid and smart script by George Gallo and ideally understated direction by Martin Brest. Midnight Run 2 Really Happening; De Niro Returning | /Film
For her part, Alpert has a keen and understated wit.
The Canadian designer Angella Mackey makes a women's shell with a snap-in LED light strip, and L.A.-based Aether's Transit jacket has understated reflective black strips. Easy Riders
This understatedly remarkable feat of writing and performance is set with only subtle suggestions of place. Times, Sunday Times
He wore pitch-black pants and a black shirt with understated ruffles at the neck and sleeves.
His admission that he was ‘disappointed’ was a diplomatic understatement.
She points to the Oscar Party Legs, the ones a drunken Jack Nicholson tried to violate after he won for Cuckoo's Nest, and the understated Nonprofit Fundraiser Legs she wore to Jerry Lewis Telethons, and the fake-tanned State Dinner with Reagan and Gorbachev Legs that the Secretary of State made her cover up with a long hemline, because their shade matched Gorbachev's birthmark. Centipede
Instead, we were presented with bland technical data, neat, sanitised diagrams and understated text.
My post, while intentionally understated, is meant to provoke one to think about the insanity of "sameness" being the purpose of education. "No Child Left Behind" Is Nothing New In Albuquerque
His resigned acceptance of the situations in which the plot places him is a masterpiece of understated comedy acting and very, very effective.
The band prefers to keep things very understated, but they never skimp on melody or song structure, which, though simple, doesn't fail to captivate.
But they mocked it in a sufficiently understated manner that, if you'll indulge me, I'm going to try to get a little more mileage out of it.
It would be an understatement to say that there was no swank.
Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas Some are ornate, others as understatedly handsome as a steamer trunk. Sometimes It's Not Just a Cigar Box
It has,' the Scotland manager says with understatement,'caused a bit of a stooshie.' Times, Sunday Times
It still has an elegant and fluid design, understated rather than flash, but sadly it is missing the distinctive boomerang-shaped rear lights.
Owen Wilson has a smarmy-cool, utterly natural screen persona of smiles, cheeky ad-libs and ironically understated wisecracks.
To say the movie was bad is an understatement .
To say she over-emoted is defamatory understatement. Actress, Seductress
Saying that shards of broken glass are razor sharp is an understatement.
Sometimes the songs have a folksy sway, cool melodic lines unfolding with squeezebox sounds, soft basslines and understated percussion around them; sometimes, they coolly shuffle like the bouncier songs of Madeleine Peyroux. Half Seas Over: Half Seas Over
A very straightforward narrative told with understated cinematic technique, this is not an excuse to show off how cool it can be to dismember a character using computer graphics.
It is increasingly common for the rich to understate the value of gifts in order to avoid paying taxes on property passed on to heirs.
The Olympic testing programme has been unfurling with a quiet precision and understated efficiency since May, such that the number of events that have already taken place, from modern pentathlon to mountain biking, would probably surprise you apparently there was even a trial of Wimbledon as the Olympic tennis venue – it was called the All England Championships and won by a Novak Djokovic. Sebastian Coe must be running on Jedi mind control| Emma John
Subtle and understated, he acts and shouts his way through scenes with inimitable style.
Lesser fly-on-the-wall programmes would have ladled the pathos on with a shovel but there's an unfussy, understated humanity here. TV highlights 29/06/2011: Killer Tigers | Timeshift: Hotel Deluxe | Finding Amelia | The Apprentice | Afghanistan: The Battle For Helmand | 24 Hours in A&E
Lyrically poetic and understated, this album has a churchly feel that makes for perfect nighttime chillout music.
He has also stated that a new stadium for the club is a priority, which if anything is an understatement. What Now for Liverpool?
A supermarket assistant, in cahoots with a customer, wrapped goods and deliberately understated the price.
This means that when fundamentalists say they are obeying the word of God, they have severely understated the authority for their position.
Don Shirley, an understated man with steel-frame glasses and a scraggly beard, was a kindred spirit.
Handley JA always appeared with a halo above his head to mark his manifest saintliness, a point picked up with typical understatement in the essay on him.
And yet that tradition's peculiar virtues - understatement, plainness, a willingness to explain one's ideas - create the effects here which will surprise Americans most.
The whole house is understated, which reflects the owners, who primarily wanted a house that was liveable for them.
He lets it lie where it may (using the long-forgotten art form of understatement) - and boy, does the whole thing curl around your subconscious in deliciously disturbing ways! The Surreal Office
The fabrics are understated, using simple knits, jersey cotton and moleskins.
And whilst she was statuesque, her body was fully in proportion, slim and shapely, moulded by a carefully understated outfit.
They often understated their coal output.
The pilot episode/movie does an excellent job of establishing the characters and backstory, and creates a quietly understated atmosphere of creepiness.
Subtlety is the foremost element in this suavely written and understated novel.
Grandson just turned eleven, to say he was excited is an understatement. Big game tags
Nor do we taint John Le Carre's understated brilliance with the unpalatable thought that Jeffrey Archer is forever trying helplessly to write in roughly the same genre.
Rupert Murdoch said that our traditional model is 'malfunctioning' - a classic understatement," Montgomery told today's Adrian Monck
It is a stylised drama with understated dialogue that depends on recognition of key words and concepts.
To say he seems unworried would be an understatement.
The direction, too, is smart and understated and is helped by the film's clear, naturalistic cinematography.
The result on the catwalk was a chic, two-tone handbag with a sleek, understated feel, which falls in line with the minimalist diktats of recent Paris fashion weeks. Victoria Beckham changes gear with a confident New York fashion week show
It's an impressive, understated debut that repays repeated listens.
They range from lovely, understated elegance and simplicity to wild extravagance.
An understated shine, something that says ‘Wood Underneath!’ with no suggestion of plasticization or laminate or (gag) thermo foil. Outfoxed Diary Entry
Written in richly described flashbacks that slowly reveal the characters 'almost surreal connections, this deceptively understated novel asks crucial questions about how to live and reconcile history in an atomic age. The Ash Garden: Summary and book reviews of The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock.
Understated self-confidence and unbreakable positivity is his way.
Unflouncy apart from a touch of frill at the back, this winner sported a demure v-neck, sleek, unfussy hair and understated makeup.
It's an understatement to say that I'm gratified by the response generated by the inaugural podcast.
A uniformed ostiary ushered us into the reception area, a temple of understatement in exotic marbles and dark, gleaming woods.
Led by playing of uncommon mellowness and timbral purity from clarinetist Anthony McGill, enhanced by the elegant understatement of veteran violist Michael Tree and the character-rich keyboard work of pianist Anna Polonsky, they brought out the genial warmth in Mozart's writing. A superlative performance by the Schumann Trio
Saxophonist Greg Tardy provides a good foil with some subtly understated and nostalgic lines that catch the mood of the night.
It would be a massive understatement to say that Condorcet's forecast of advances in science, technology, and medicine has held up better than his anticipations of progress in ethics and politics.
Bressler had, it was plain, been promptly informed, and Anthony's condition exaggerated rather than understated. IN LOVE AND WAR
During its course, this class developed a highly competitive intramural athletic program, where competition was keen and spirited, perhaps a classic understatement.
To say that these last years have been dispiriting is an understatement. Balkinization
Dine on fried yuca and fresh snapper at Puerto Sagua 700 Collins Ave., 305-673-1115, an understated diner-style restaurant with a traditional menu, long favored among South Beach locals for its authentic interpretations of Cuban cuisine. Take Monday Off: Cuban Miami
Like his restaurants, he typifies understated style and a calm underlying assurance of deep professionalism.
The word tense at this juncture would be a grave understatement. The Brotherhood of Man
To call this tale eerie is a bit of an understatement. REVIEW: The Dealings of Daniel Kesserich by Fritz Leiber
To say that fantasy movies have not been a big draw at the box office is to understate the matter.
Lesser fly-on-the-wall programmes would have ladled the pathos on with a shovel but there's an unfussy, understated humanity here. TV highlights 29/06/2011: Killer Tigers | Timeshift: Hotel Deluxe | Finding Amelia | The Apprentice | Afghanistan: The Battle For Helmand | 24 Hours in A&E
Heated rollers and backcombing give lift to your roots before your hair is twisted into an understated up-do. Evening Standard - Home
Delight is an understatement, but he keeps it all under perfect control, parrying a host of questions with the aplomb which has won him many admirers, including Rupert Murdoch.
However, these figures actually understate the true market valuations of both businesses, because of the enormous number of in-the-money and unexercised options out there.
Now, understatedly, the situation is much different.
Although to say the man was a big influence on me musically would be a gross understatement, I will personally remember Piggy best for his disarming demeanour.
Designers presented understated elegance, a lifestyle only for the initiated.
The result is a lot of simple wood shapes and accents of colour, with everything durable and understatedly chic. Times, Sunday Times
That New York City is not a peaceful place to live is the understatement of the year/month/century.
Evans has a way of combining generous understatement with a big grin that is very endearing.
This was the issue I was raising with my statement that ‘the Christian Church sometimes understates the determinist viewpoint because it makes such harsh punishments seem more merited.’
His recollections are more striking for being so understated and unburnished. Times, Sunday Times
Bleak façades, I thought, understated as only the very wealthy can understate them. DOUBTING THOMAS
In a masterful bit of understatement, Feinstein blamed [millions of dollars in losses] on “noticeably subpar” food and service. Food Fight « Isegoria
Indeed, in their own quiet, understated way, that's what they've always done.
Phil Robson The Immeasurable Code British jazz guitarist Robson is no stranger to transatlantic partnerships, but this one with the understatedly persuasive American postbop saxophonist Mark Turner – a recording caught live on tour this year – might be the best of them. F&M playlist
He is a wonderfully understated character with the gentle knowing presence of an outsider who understands.
It was all so quietly elegant, so understated, so beautifully comme il faut. RESCUING ROSE
Well, calling this a grudging or a reluctant acceptance is a huge understatement, Bob.
Yes, Don Boudreaux, the man who makes a big deal of the fact that there have been big changes in the quality of automobiles ove the last 20-40 years and claims the cpi understate inflation because of this. Bastiat in Fairfax?, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
Gene Wilder is brilliantly understated as the Waco Kid, a stark contrast to the neurotic nebbish Leo Bloom in Brooks's The Producers.
LUI: Steinunn is succeeding by promoting her label online and showing her clothes in Paris, Copenhagen, and New York, but she is staying true to her understated Nordic style. CNN Transcript Jun 13, 2009
Of course, if "greige" is a little understated for you, you could always get a set of William and Kate nail decals. April Daniels Hussar: The 10 Craziest Moments of Royal Wedding Frenzy Yet
‘I watch from a distance now and am disappointed neither club is in peak condition,’ he said with understatement.
Second, I can't help but cast a somewhat skeptical eye at assertions that Obama's polling numbers are understated because they miscount/undercount the youth vote. Poll: Obama, Romney Ahead In Iowa
At the risk of profound understatement, we note that abortion symbolizes more than merely an obstetrical procedure. American Grace
The surprise -- and even that word understates it -- nomination of Alvin Greene, an unemployed man who lives with his parents, as the Democratic nominee in the South Carolina Senate race has captivated the country. Explaining Alvin Greene
Then there is the classic, who aims for an understated look in camel, beige, cream and navy.
The “five-tool” designation understates his skills by ignoring his intelligence, preparation, and guile. WILLIE MAYS
The risk for the purchaser is that the vendor may have understated the scope and extent of the creditors.
These are two thoughtful performances in a carefully understated film that has a number of erudite lines without ever becoming preachy.
Her vocals are appreciably understated, without any pseudo-Gospel falderol or excessive scat. Refining Classic Sounds
To say that the music is overblown and pretentious is rather an understatement.
It would be a major understatement to say that scientific research on gerontophilia is scant compared to the study of other paraphilias, but scattered references do exist. Slate Magazine
Led by playing of uncommon mellowness and timbral purity from clarinetist Anthony McGill, enhanced by the elegant understatement of veteran violist Michael Tree and the character-rich keyboard work of pianist Anna Polonsky, they brought out the genial warmth in Mozart's writing. A superlative performance by the Schumann Trio
– and "grouchy" is a gross understatement for the suffering that so many American citizens are now subjected to because of it. 'People have a right to be grouchy,' Axelrod says
To say that I was surprised is somewhat of an understatement.
In a way, this weirdly understates the severity of institutional racism in the United States, since it implies that there were all these qualified minority jurists who were getting short shrift from the Oval Office. Standing Pat
She's sympathetic without being drippy, extremely levelheaded, and (for a change) her sexuality is understated.
It was always far more dramatic to understate things, especially for someone who'd smelled gunsmoke in his time. WITHOUT REMORSE
Softley said that he was impressed by Roach's "understated and naturalistic" acting: "She took her work seriously without being 'actressy'," he said. Thatcher role puts 'troublemaker from the valleys' on road to stardom
To say marine life is abundant is to be guilty of a gross understatement.
One of the city's oldest ryokan, it has only 19 rooms, each one perfection in understated style.
To say the movie was bad is an understatement .
Just a few months after the iPhone appeared, Apple introduced the very similar iPod Touch, which didn't get as much attention, perhaps because its name understates the scope of its features. IPod to Reach Out and Touch Someone
As for jeans, the backlash has begun on skinny jeans in women's fashion — bell-bottom versions have made frightening appearances on runways — and will follow in men's as well, though hopefully in a more understated way. No Headline Available
She believes the research understates the amount of discrimination women suffer.
The novel uses these worn motifs to create a subtext of understated feelings.
As an advocate for the cause, she is all the more effective for taking a line in wry understatement unusual in this context.
More than half a century later the country has moved from understatement to groundless exaggeration.
I thought his pink confetti tweed skirt suit with an understated floral embroidered scalloped hem was right on the money.
To say the game could have done with a goal then is understatement.
The understated melody, the fluid rhythmical meter, the ingenious subtlety, together with random orchestration.
To call this possibility a tragedy is an unacceptable understatement. “noob” can’t be the millionth word « Motivated Grammar
But the truth can be told with powerful understatement as well, in words and visual images that create empathy without turning the American people into paranoid voyeurs.
‘The socialist meets the socialite,’ he quipped, but that was to understate the awesome mismatch.
To call that message "anti-intellectual" would be a comic understatement.
The reading of his will raised some eyebrows, to riot in understatement.
Many are understated for much of the year, coming into their own in midwinter.
It inspired her approach to the song - folky, understated with an undercurrent of soul. The Sun
To call tabla a mere percussion instrument alone would be a vast understatement of its musical range, as one of the most revered of all classical Indian musical instruments. KVR News: Top Stories
He became the biggest superstar of world rugby, but he is an understated hero.
Now owned by Robin Bextor, a television director who sometimes shoots the videos for his daughter Sophie Ellis Bextor, there is an appealing and understated stylishness to the place, which makes it just perfect for the mislaying of whole afternoons. The 20 best places to eat in Britain this summer
To say that it is convoluted and extremely complicated is an understatement.
Calling him an up-and-comer is an understatement - he's already a phenomenal actor who has been in quite a bit, you just haven't come to memorize his name and his face yet, but you will soon enough. Interview: Chiwetel Ejiofor on Redbelt, Serenity, and Watchmen « FirstShowing.net
He's dressed in scruffy jeans and a faded biker jacket, talking in quiet, understated tones.
It can be understatedly elegant or wildly exotic, it all depends on you. Courtney Cachet: What's Hot Right Now: Turquoise
The atmosphere throughout is one of understated elegance and the highest standards of comfort and luxury.
The government chooses deliberately to understate the increase in prices.
Experts like Freyle claim the official estimate of casualties is way understated.
Critics have noted his careful research, objectivity, and a lucid and understated but straightforward writing style.
My boyfriend looks pretty ordinary, but he's intelligent in an understated way.
Thus Dreyfuss gave us his character, an ordinary man caught up in wheels of justice spinning out of control, a simple, understated dignity.
To say that he has a knack for being at the right place at the right time would be an understatement.
The phrases are sharp, uncluttered, often loaded with an understated black humour.
But the simplicity of trading Pokemon clutching gifts is understatedly sweet, and it's especially fun to meet up with a pal to play locally. Archive 2008-02-01
This season's touchstone of understated femininity is soon to be passed over in favour of sexed-up, vibrant skirts and dresses, as seen at Roland Mouret, or in favour of a new androgyny championed on the catwalk by Dries Van Noten and Balenciaga. Paris fashion week: wardrobe updates
The simple "tap-to-drop" controls are great, the bevy of play options is superb, and even though the music and presentation may be a ltitle understated, they fit the game perfectly. 1UP RSS feed
Through the windows, he had seen sunlight streaking the Georgica Pond - the name a deliberate understatement typical of the local gentry, it being more the size of a lake - like pigment upon a painter's brush: there was a sense about the light of incipience, of colour that was not yet vivid, of an idea not yet formed. Black Blade
The front line of sax, vibes and trombone may strike some as unconventional, but to say it works would be a bit of an understatement; more than sum of their parts, indeed.
I think that's a serious understatement of the problem which annihilationism poses for itself. Triablogue
In masterly understated fashion he talks of what a ‘lovely time’ his stint with Celtic has provided him.
To say that she over-emoted is a defamatory understatement. Actress, Seductress
In fact, to say that the police were not impressed is an understatement. Spectre of Scandal Raised After Charges Against Crown Dropped : Law is Cool
‘Yes, this is a testing time,’ he understatedly said.
Instead, it delivers a sinuous minerality larded with suave peachy fruit in perfectly poised understatement.
Her delivery is mannered: grandstanding effects punctuated by hammily deadpan understatement and coyly rhetorical pauses emerging from a face cosmeticized into a comic mask.
To say it was depressing is an understatement: even the most liberal-minded of viewers would have balked at the moral desolation of the scene. Times, Sunday Times
PESCA: And there was Coach Bob Bradley, a man for whom the word understated is an understatement, positively emoting. U.S. Advances After Late Goal Against Algeria
And for those determined enough to stand out from the crowd by virtue of understatement, that may well be enough.
There's an understated confidence about the food, and the service allows you to sit back and truly relax.
She believes the research understates the amount of discrimination women suffer.
He informed us with massive understatement that he was feeling disappointed.
I guess the term understated or subdued (SP?) seems to fit. Home Theater Forum
Bacon plays all the pieces with a rather understated, unshowy technique, where the music is always of prime importance.
Euphemisms rather use understatement … indirectness … the language of diplomacy. Euphemisms are often misleading.
Only a wine of suavity, complexity and yet understated ambition could do him justice.
The use of block colours in black, anthracite, charcoal gray, indigo, winter white and red-brown complements this understated and practical collection.
Now opera has rarely been a naturalistic medium, and never an understated one.
This construction is technically called litotes; it's a form of deliberate understatement that is often used comically. The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed
Men's shirts also take a multicultural spin with the guayabera, also known as a Latin bowling shirt, which is cut in a standard silhouette but features small vertical pleats and understated embroidery down the front.
More from Anthropologie, we have this plaid trench, which is understated and stylish and this adorable shift dress.
He's dressed in scruffy jeans and a faded biker jacket, talking in quiet, understated tones.
There are even interviews with white riot policeman and executioners, but the power of the film belongs to the music, and ‘powerful’ is an understatement.
It's a hilarious film full of gems of comic absurdity that are mixed in with nonchalant understatement.
The slightly burnt taste recalls butterscotch as much as caramel, and calling the texture rich is a pitiful understatement: it is, in fact, so luscious that you want to fill a swimming pool with the stuff and dive in. NYT > Home Page
Spanish has no word for "understatement".
Whether in strophic arias, simple canzonettas or elaborate madrigals, Kiehr's singing is effortlessly lush and nicely emotionally understated.
This brand emits an understated, international confidence, dating back to early jet-setting.
To say this book caused a sensation is to understate its impact.
The adage, that truth is often stranger than fiction, is a huge understatement.
The whole house is understated, which reflects the owners, who primarily wanted a house that was liveable for them.
'To say that I was never the belle of the ball in my schooldays is the understatement of the century, but here ... can you imagine it, Storm, me actually outshining Barbara Benton and Helen Worthington both at once?' Masters Of The Vortex
Whether in strophic arias, simple canzonettas or elaborate madrigals, Kiehr's singing is effortlessly lush and nicely emotionally understated.
Yet despite maintaining a slow and meditative pace throughout, The Consequences of Love is peppered with moments of understated wit.
A supermarket assistant, in cahoots with a customer, wrapped goods and deliberately understated the price.
By resorting to understatement, concrete and physical language, a poet contends against abstraction, generalization, hyperbole and the heroic language of hot-headed generals and bogus lovers alike.
It also explores doublespeak in terms of rhetorical devices, namely, personification, dehumanization, metaphor, understatement and inflation.
The good news is that I have understated our assets, and there is a trust that factors in to add a "cush" factor. Need your advice on our "PLAN"
He delivers a perfectly understated and physically nuanced performance as the 'other man' in the love triangle.
Peter Coleman-Wright, making his role debut with the Royal Opera as the lampooned Beckmesser, attempts similar understatement. Review: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Royal Opera House
This simple statement does little to describe the lifestyle he would have endured under such circumstances, and his response matches his understated, uncomplaining attitude.
You and the others who prefer to preach in understated, refined language may look down your noses at me from the Mountain of the Better People; but I caution you: as surely as the economics of wreckage shatters the land of the common people who want for warning, so too does it lay low those who thought it best to call softly and with refined dignity from their higher place. Your Right Hand Thief
There are still people who would go for a cool understated chic, and in our time of personally indulgent dressing this is probably the time to do it.

How To Use Understate In A Sentence

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