As verbs the difference between downplay and eschew
is that downplay is to de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequential while eschew is (formal) to avoid; to shun, to shy away from.
downplay
English
Alternative forms
* play down
Verb
(
en verb)
To de-emphasize; to present or portray as less important or consequential.
- He would sometimes downplay his Princeton education by saying simply that he went to school in New Jersey.
Usage notes
* The synonymous alternative form (play down) is slightly more formal, or slightly less informal.
Anagrams
*
eschew
English
Verb
(
en verb)
(formal) To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.
Usage notes
* The verb is not normally applied to the avoidance or shunning of a person or physical object, but rather, only to the avoidance or shunning of an idea, concept, or other intangible.
Quotations
{{timeline
, 1500s=1599
, 1900s=1927
, 2010s=2014}}
*
*: What cannot be eschew’d must be embrac’d.
* 1927 ,
*: He could afford no servants, and would admit but few visitors to his absolute solitude; eschewing close friendships and receiving his rare acquaintances in one of the three ground-floor rooms which he kept in order.
* '>citation
Derived terms
* (l)
Related terms
* shy
References
