1 : a statement that represents something as smaller or less intense, or less important than it really is : a statement that understates something To say that I was surprised by this outcome would be an understatement.

What does understatement mean example?

a statement that describes something in a way that makes it seem less important, serious, bad, etc. than it really is, or the act of making such statements: To say that her resignation was a shock would be an understatement - it caused panic. "It didn't go well? " "That's the understatement of the year/decade/century.

Is an understatement a bad thing?

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishun‧der‧state‧ment /ˌʌndəˈsteɪtmənt $ -dər-/ ●○○ noun 1 [countable] a statement that is not strong enough to express how good, bad, impressive etc something really is To say the movie was bad is an understatement. 'It wasn't very easy to find the house.