Understate

You spend your life railing against central economic planning, and you need a conspiracy theory to explain why an economic projection was wrong? should be "understate," or "underestimate." ❋ Unknown (2010)

Most religious switching occurs before the age of thirty, but to the extent that switching also occurs later in life, these comparisons tend to understate the long-term rise in switching, since the cohorts born late in the twentieth century have had less time to switch than those born earlier. ❋ Robert D. Putnam (2010)

Credit-union officials say those figures understate their actual reach in terms of customer numbers because most members at credit unions have small balances. ❋ Suzanne Kapner (2011)

In what ways do these data overstate or understate the degree of upward mobility in the economy? ❋ Unknown (2009)

To say that Karen Russell's star has been on the rise is to understate her phenomenal entry into the literary world. ❋ Brian Gresko (2011)

While some countries have higher rates of recorded suicides, including the U.S.'s over 10 per 100,000, mental-health professionals here say Greece's data greatly understate the incidence of suicide because it carries a strong stigma among Greeks. ❋ Marcus Walker (2011)

It took King Henry VIII's want of a divorce and Martin Luther's offense at the Pope's transgressions to prompt the translation of the religious scriptures into English and German, which is not to ignore or understate similar problems with the Holy Bible, the core document of the Latin Church, which had its own linguistic odyssey making its way from the mystery of the Classic Greek to the vulgarity of common understanding. ❋ Dr. Naif A. Al-Mutawa (2011)

Those who say Fenway Sports Group should have picked a full-time successor to Hodgson off an unconvincing list perhaps understate the need for Liverpool to recover their poise and identity as a community club. ❋ Unknown (2011)

In other words, to say only that Warmers are greatly exaggerating the impact of carbon dioxide to global warming is to understate the extent of their deceit. ❋ Unknown (2009)

All reporting is biased by what is reported and what is not reported, but on CNN lately to speak of the news being biased is to gravely understate the problem. ❋ Unknown (2009)

LSU chancellor Mike Martin said the school's 14% mark may actually understate the football team's financial impact. ❋ Rachel Bachman (2012)

'I understate my case to say that it is one of the most shallow speeches by a supposedly serious politician that I have ever read. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Skeptics point out that these monthly numbers likely understate the activity from China because its central bank and sovereign-wealth funds also purchase Treasurys via proxies, especially in the U.K. ❋ Min Zeng (2012)

I continue to agree with Hall and Murphy, who argue that firms use stock options to understate employee costs. ❋ Unknown (2009)

A number of analysts think official data, which have continued to show a slight rise in prices, understate the slowdown as the government can affect the numbers by pressing developers to withhold or add high-value properties to the market depending on what it wants the data to show. ❋ Bob Davis (2011)

According U.S. government data, China's holdings of Treasury securities totaled $1.159 trillion at the end of May, although those estimates are thought to understate the true total. ❋ Aaron Back (2011)

Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods Inc., a company that provides pizzas to schools, said it opposes the USDA plan because it would "understate the amount of tomato products…actually consumed." ❋ Bill Tomson (2011)

According to Schwarz, these football revenue figures may understate the contribution football makes to the collegiate bottom line. ❋ Rachel Bachman (2012)