Word family noun statement understatement ≠ overstatement adjective understated ≠ overstated verb state understate ≠ overstate
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishunderstateun‧der‧state /ˌʌndəˈsteɪt $ -ər-/ verb [transitive] UNIMPORTANTto describe something in a way that makes it seem less important or serious than it really is OPP overstate The press have tended to understate the extent of the problem.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
understate• In the report, the incidence of violent crime is consistently understated.• The use of the official rate hugely understates exports and imports, and distorts year-on-year comparisons.• These calculations understate the continuing expansion of sales through multiple retailers, as demonstrated by data from Taylor Nelson Sofres.• First, the agency may seek to expand a given government programme by systematically overstating the benefits or understating the costs.• I think you are understating the importance to young people of a stable home life.• To call it a bonanza is to understate the matter significantly.• The risk for the purchaser is that the vendor may have understated the scope and extent of the creditors.• Even these shocking statistics understate the seriousness of the situation.• They had done this by artificially understating the value of bonds on their books. 