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understatement
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  • "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement, Harry thought.†   (source)
  • There was no color in the article, no description, just an understated list of events: Architect Ronald Dorian, 36, his wife, Carlotta, 34, a publisher, and their daughter, Misty, 7, were found dead at 33 Dunstan Road.†   (source)
  • Saying I was nervous was a gross understatement.†   (source)
  • This is truly an understatement.†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • To say I have frizzy hair is an understatement.†   (source)
  • It was lunchtime when Brullo released them for the day, and to say that Celaena was hungry would be a severe understatement.†   (source)
  • The understatement of the year, was a phrase my mother uses.†   (source)
  • She was wearing an understated floral hat, in a pastel color, that contrasted with the white of her hair.†   (source)
  • Everything looked the same, but more still: the Weekday Warriors still sat on the benches outside the library, but their gossip was quiet, understated.†   (source)
  • That would be a giant understatement, anyway.†   (source)
  • Andy's mother, with her understated jewelry and her not-quite-interested smile—the kind of woman who could get on the phone with the mayor if she needed a favor — seemed to operate somehow above the constraints of New York City bureaucracy.†   (source)
  • "An understatement, but true nevertheless," said Brom dryly.†   (source)
  • Finally we hit bottom with an understated wh00000m.†   (source)
  • "I think that's an understatement," Mack chuckled.†   (source)
  • Boy, what an understatement.†   (source)
  • He paused to give emphasis to his understatement.†   (source)
  • But it would be an understatement to say I felt excited at the prospect of attending the Baron's party.†   (source)
  • I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.†   (source)
  • He has fallen the tiniest bit in love with Lydia and with the understated, unflustered way she entertains.†   (source)
  • The decor is understated, tasteful, what Idris has come to think of as "expat chic."†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • This was an understatement.†   (source)
  • You've picked up the English habit of understatement, Jack.†   (source)
  • To say everyone had a merry time that day was an understatement.†   (source)
  • It would be an understatement to say that the hookah boys are taken aback.†   (source)
  • To say that I was not making amazing headway in my hometown would be an understatement.†   (source)
  • Looking back, that was an understatement.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement.†   (source)
  • Emptiness and boredom: what an understatement.†   (source)
  • But this statistic actually understates the matter.†   (source)
  • "You seem to know a lot about me," I said, making the understatement of the year.†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • Understatement of the year.†   (source)
  • Major understatement, if the dude was really for real!†   (source)
  • Grainger is a senior flavorist at IFF, a soft-spoken chemist with graying hair, an English accent, and a fondness for understatement.†   (source)
  • To say Janice neither trusted Adam's swimming ability nor liked the idea of a bunch of teenagers in boats out on the lake was an understatement, but he begged until she agreed he could go—as long as he wore a life jacket.†   (source)
  • There's thousands of people, Bessie now sang, ain't got no place to go, and for the first time Rufus began to hear, in the severely understated monotony of this blues, something which spoke to his troubled mind.†   (source)
  • C. J. was understating the gravity of the situation.†   (source)
  • To say I don't live a squeaky-clean life is an understatement.†   (source)
  • "I suppose we can assume the army and air force decided not to join the coup," Ghosh said, looking to see if this understatement got a response from Hema.†   (source)
  • This was a massive understatement.†   (source)
  • LINDNER (With understated relief) Thank you.†   (source)
  • And then maybe you drop by, and it was probably all very English and understated in those days, and you're Browning and you chitchat around a bit, before you drop the bi ggie: 'Oh, by the way, any notions yet on how my poems might be doing?'†   (source)
  • It must have taken hours, and to say she was angry was an understatement.†   (source)
  • That was the understatement of the century—when the alcohol encounters my face, I jerk back with a yelp.†   (source)
  • To say I've tasted nothing like it before is an understatement.†   (source)
  • Though bizarre, it was also discreet, understated, within the bounds of the agreeably ordinary (Tomas's fascination with curiosities had nothing in common with Fellini's fascination with monsters): she was very tall, quite a bit taller than he was, and she had a delicate and very long nose in a face so unusual that it was impossible to call it attractive (everyone would have protested!)†   (source)
  • On the screen the man at the wheel does his little wave, the friendly understated wave to the camera and the future and all the watching world, his hand wagging stiffly from the top of the wheel.†   (source)
  • What they had were steady jobs, in an economy where an official unemployment rate of 70 percent probably understated the case.†   (source)
  • "Completely," I say, though even that seems like a total understatement.†   (source)
  • Even though they will sip French wine in the newly redecorated Oval Room, on the second floor, and JFK, with his usual understated style, will play the part of the congenial host, the tension at the dinner table will be something they will remember for the rest of their lives.†   (source)
  • Older than Adams by several years, Wibird was, as would be said in understatement, "somewhat eccentric," yet warmly esteemed.†   (source)
  • I'd been crushing on Toby for three years, so to say he made me nervous would be a massive understatement.†   (source)
  • Massive understatement.†   (source)
  • "That's an understatement," said Bert, "if the rest of the legend of Byblos is true."†   (source)
  • Some men find the cool, disinterested, and understated attractive.†   (source)
  • Easy Company's boss was Captain Dave Severance, a tall, lean Wisconsin native; a ramrod Marine of exceptional judgment who had shown his mettle in battle, who expressed his authority through calm understatement and unflinching example.†   (source)
  • Nice and understated.†   (source)
  • Hard was an understatement, but it only showed how much I cared for her.†   (source)
  • Thomas grunted at the understatement.†   (source)
  • "With his typical understatement, Mortenson doesn't say much about the twenty-four hours it took to haul himself up to reach Fine other than to comment that it was "fairly arduous."†   (source)
  • Her understated dress was in marked contrast to her ostentatious house: a simple black jacket, gray tweed pants, and black riding boots.†   (source)
  • Actually, that sounds kind of good to me, because to tell you the truth the last couple weeks have been pretty bleak and lonely (and that's a total understatement).†   (source)
  • Its bell was quiet, the understated sound lending an eerie emphasis.†   (source)
  • To say that my mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts was an understatement.†   (source)
  • Nor was it that he spoke loud or long; the surprise of the man was his understatement, the quiet and kindly intimacy of his acquaintance.†   (source)
  • There was a hint of amusement in Francisco's face, as at an understatement.†   (source)
  • That is something of an understatement, my friend.†   (source)
  • An understatement, if ever there was one.†   (source)
  • To say that I am picky is an understatement.†   (source)
  • Ornate and understated at the same time.†   (source)
  • If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.†   (source)
  • But, Tyler, you understate your open source data.†   (source)
  • This is my very house, my Mountview house in Bedley Run, understated and grand and unsolicitous of anything but the most honorable regard, and despite how magnificently Liv Crawford has directed its exacting restoration, I cannot escape feeling a mere proximateness to all its exhibits and effects, this oddly unsatisfying museum that she has come to curate for this visitation and the many that will someday follow.†   (source)
  • These figures undoubtedly understate antiemancipation sentiment, for the regiment's colonel was a strong supporter of the proclamation and the poll was an open one.†   (source)
  • This was a painful understatement.†   (source)
  • "That," said Navot, "is the understatement of the year."†   (source)
  • There was nothing understated or subtle about me, and my aura was one of energy, restlessness, and inadmissability.†   (source)
  • Not content with their names, they take descriptive titles also—the Empire State, the Garden State, the Granite State—titles proudly borne and little given to understatement.†   (source)
  • To say I was chagrined to discover I was not alone would be an understatement; for sitting directly behind me, and not twenty yards away, were the missing wolves.†   (source)
  • An understatement.†   (source)
  • This understatement could not have seemed quite so omniscient to me back then in 1947.†   (source)
  • "Anxiousis a bit of an understatement," he murmured.†   (source)
  • He said her name with an understated fervor.†   (source)
  • Thomas thought the man couldn't have possibly made a greater understatement.†   (source)
  • It was understated, simple ...and jet-black.†   (source)
  • What an understatement, I thought to myself.†   (source)
  • To say she was getting little sleep these days was an understatement.†   (source)
  • To say that it wasn't a nice neighborhood would be an understatement.†   (source)
  • It was so understated, with polished stones that weren't quite gems.†   (source)
  • Which was definitely the understatement of the day.†   (source)
  • It would be an understatement to say that Mameha became famous.†   (source)
  • Since we've Dumpster-dived for lunch on many occasions, this was an understatement.†   (source)
  • This can't be good," I said, with my natural gift for understatement.†   (source)
  • Control was his byword, understatement his persona.†   (source)
  • She is tanned, her lips an understated orangey-pink.†   (source)
  • Maybe we're nothing alike at all ....Understatement!†   (source)
  • To say that you humans have it made would be an understatement.†   (source)
  • I know it's been a very long time..."Kind of an understatement, wouldn't you say?†   (source)
  • Actually, I was betting this was an understatement.†   (source)
  • "That's the understatement of the year," said Jack.†   (source)
  • Even without the Santa outfit, this was an understatement.†   (source)
  • "So am I," broke in Alex, not bothering to make light of Bourne's understatement.†   (source)
  • His commands had the understatement of the ancient cavalry art of dressage.†   (source)
  • She absorbed the unspoken compliment in silence, appreciating his understated ways.†   (source)
  • But there was one facet of their characterization that rang true and was perhaps even understated.†   (source)
  • To say that Troy will not be particularly mobile is the understatement of the millennia.†   (source)
  • Why, Jim, that would be an understatement!†   (source)
  • To say I was confused would have been a massive understatement.†   (source)
  • To say that the sheilas of Ninety-Mile beach were world class was a hit of an understatement.†   (source)
  • This, of course, was the understatement of the century.†   (source)
  • Which was a massive understatement, actually.†   (source)
  • "It's a knockout," I said, understating my admiration.†   (source)
  • They were dressed in a riot of tuxedo pieces, fur, and armor that made my own outfit look positively understated.†   (source)
  • Saying it's tough is an understatement.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement," said Ron.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement," I muttered.†   (source)
  • My thighs burned a strange mix of hot and cold, and when I raised my sweats, to say it looked like two cats had been set free on my thighs would be an understatement Limping to the dugout, I collapsed on the bench "Cute," Elliot said.†   (source)
  • This was the understatement of the year; Boris drank beer the way other kids drank Pepsi, starting pretty much the instant we came home from school.†   (source)
  • Stanley wasn't quite so understated.†   (source)
  • Actually, that's an understatement.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement.†   (source)
  • In our part of East Texas, there are a lot of past and present special forces guys, quiet, understated iron men, most of them unsung heroes except among their families.†   (source)
  • Ramius understated it.†   (source)
  • Strange is an understatement.†   (source)
  • Oh, I'd say that's an understatement.†   (source)
  • To my surprise, Jasper followed after, his own efficient leap seeming understated, even subtle, after the others.†   (source)
  • And in fact ...well, 'strong urge' is an understatement, because I was afraid that in another moment everything would begin to look yellow to me, if you know what I mean ...†   (source)
  • She had the understated brilliance of a pearl, as she always did; but when we walked down the street together, the women who bowed at Mameha were looking at me.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement.†   (source)
  • That is an understatement.†   (source)
  • Probably an understatement at that.†   (source)
  • "Understatement," Annabeth muttered.†   (source)
  • To say that he wasn't concerned would have been a gross understatement, but he refused to allow fear to gain any foothold.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement.†   (source)
  • Major understatement!†   (source)
  • That he wanted to let her know, in his own understated way, that she had been and always would be important to him, struck her with almost painful intensity.†   (source)
  • Since the onset of civil war, Burundi's per capita gross domestic product had fallen from roughly $180 per year to about $80, the lowest in the world, and of course that paltry figure understated the general penury.†   (source)
  • That's an understatement, she thought.†   (source)
  • Though she knew it was an understatement worthy of someone with Pete Gandy's intelligence, what else was she supposed to say?†   (source)
  • Every now and then, I heard her whisper something, an understated exclamation, and I knew she was picturing Anna wearing whatever was on the page.†   (source)
  • So understated.†   (source)
  • There is strong evidence that these numbers, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, understate the number of meatpacking injuries that occur.†   (source)
  • Esther Winship's apartment was lavishly understated, beiges, off-whites, great staid sofas that did not give when you sat, and expanses of dunnish rug, deep-piled, and almost no pictures, and the few pictures Esther elected to hang were self-effacing to the point of who cares, and the place had so much attitude, all tension and edge, that Jack seemed largely lost here.†   (source)
  • And that was an understatement.†   (source)
  • Everything about her seemed calculated to make Annabeth feel inadequate: the easy grace with which she wore her dress, the perfect yet understated makeup, the way she radiated feminine charm that no man could possibly resist.†   (source)
  • Understated, huh?†   (source)
  • Another major understatement.†   (source)
  • One afternoon Josh calls, and in the understatement of the century, I tell him that I'm tired of being angry.†   (source)
  • Your mesh leather belt is casual and understated, but I bet it cost a lot, which means you're willing to spend money on quality, but you don't want it to look show-offy.†   (source)
  • It was such an understatement—that luxurious car made me feel so inadequate and it made my blood boil.†   (source)
  • Having thus far dealt primarily with the "minutiae" of a plan for confederation, the delegates, by late July, had gotten down to the "great points of representation, boundaries, and taxation," in Jefferson's words; and as Josiah Bartlett wrote with New Hampshire understatement, "the sentiments of the members [were] very different on many of the articles."†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • Brain-numbing shock, the kind that reduced my train of thought to an inching crawl, was an understatement.†   (source)
  • Jim had liked him at once—this small, quiet man in his thirties, a man of understated smiles, always neatly dressed, always pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose.†   (source)
  • [Understatement†   (source)
  • Understatement.†   (source)
  • By nature or by exposure he had become like them, in their understatement,their blunt assertion of will.†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • In keeping with the liver's chaste and understated demeanor, the gallbladder is tucked out of sight, just under the overhang of the liver.†   (source)
  • It was this instinctive projection that made Bourne include in his plea-calmly but firmly, the emphasis in understatement-such phrases as You could travel, disappear ...a wealthy man, free of care and unpleasant drudgery.†   (source)
  • With Zu still crying in the backseat and me having no idea where we had been headed in the first place, to say I was relieved was an understatement.†   (source)
  • It merely encouraged companies, in the words of a subsequent congressional investigation, "to understate injuries, to falsify records, and to cover up accidents."†   (source)
  • Such worries weighed heavily through the journey to New York, for all the "parade and show" in his honor, and in advance of his first appearance in the Senate, he prepared a brief speech in which, with marked understatement and honesty, he identified the problem: "Not wholly without experience in public assemblies, I have been more accustomed to take a share in their debates than to preside in their deliberations."†   (source)
  • We understate.†   (source)
  • Resolved to keep things as understated as possible, he had ridden to Congress Hall from his lodgings at the Francis Hotel in a "simple but elegant enough" carriage drawn by just two horses.†   (source)
  • Surprise was an understatement.†   (source)
  • "Monsieur, it is Paris," she said, her wide gray eyes conveying an urgency missing in her low, understated voice.†   (source)
  • Clearly, this was an understatement.†   (source)
  • That was an understatement.†   (source)
  • I admired the elegiac understatement of its streets, the whole taut containment of the lower city, fragrant in its vines, disciplined in its stones.†   (source)
  • This, of course, was an understatement.†   (source)
  • The beauty of the campus, an acquired taste, certainly, lay in its stalwart understatement, its unapologetic capitulation to the supremacy of line over color, to the artistry of repetition, and the lyrics of a scrupulous unsentimental vision.†   (source)
  • How did that square with the fact that on each of these succeeding days when I had seen Sophie and Nathan together the word "enraptured" would have seemed to be a vapid understatement for the nature of their relationship?†   (source)
  • I had never heard of Rudolf Hoss before that day, but through her understated, simple eloquence she had caused him to exist as vividly as any apparition that had stalked my most neurotic dreams.†   (source)
  • And Juan Tomas stood beside him and snorted a little at the understatement.†   (source)
  • That's sort of a redundancy and an understatement at the same time, isn't it?†   (source)
  • Thanks for the understatement.†   (source)
  • But an unusual type of chronicle, since the writer seems to make a point of understatement, and at first sight we might almost imagine that Tarrou had a habit of observing events and people through the wrong end of a telescope.†   (source)
  • ~~~SECTION BREAK~~~ SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE DIRECTOR It is important to maintain a continual dryness of tone,—the New England understatement of sentiment, of surprise, of tragedy.†   (source)
  • That was the way things were between whites and blacks in the South; many of the most important things were never openly said; they were understated and left to seep through to one.†   (source)
  • It should be of the highest interest," Anselmo said and hearing him say it honestly and clearly and with no pose, neither the English pose of understatement nor any Latin bravado, Robert Jordan thought he was very lucky to have this old man and having seen the bridge and worked out and simplified the problem it would have been to surprise the posts and blow it in a normal way, he resented Golz's orders, and the necessity for them.†   (source)
  • I tossed the papers into a ditch and when I reached home I told Granny, in a quiet, offhand way, that the company did not want to send me any more papers because they already had too many agents inJackson, a lie which I thought was an understatement of the actual truth.†   (source)
  • But in his letters he intentionally understated everything in order to be able to surprise them.†   (source)
  • As was the custom here, he wore neither hat nor overcoat, but he was very well dressed: his suit was dark blue flannel with white pinstripes, its cut elegant, understated, stylish—which did not escape the scrutiny of the cousins' sophisticated eyes, though their gaze was immediately countered by an even sharper, more caustic inspection of their persons.†   (source)
  • No, sir, I do not exaggerate, I understate the matter, if anything, undoubtedly understate it; simply because I cannot express myself as I should like, but—†   (source)
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