understatementun‧der‧state‧ment /ˌʌndəˈsteɪtmənt $ -dər-/ ●○○ noun

- To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
- She was conscious of being a misfit, and that was a great understatement.
- That's the biggest understatement of all time!
- To say that his situation was difficult would be a decided understatement.
- To say that I was surprised by this state of affairs would be an understatement.
- To say that Reba Cooley presented a striking appearance would have been an understatement of ridiculous proportions.
- To suggest that Niagara was an obsession with him is an understatement.
- We had had a superb day's climbing, and to say his death was tragic is an understatement.
► is an understatement
To say the movie was bad is an understatement. ► the understatement of the year
‘It wasn’t very easy to find the house.’ ‘That’s got to be the understatement of the year!’ nounstatementunderstatement ≠ overstatementverbstateunderstate ≠ overstateadjectiveunderstated ≠ overstated