Vocabulary
verharmlosen
/fɛɐ̯ˈhaʁmloːzn̩/· verb
to play down, to trivialise
The reproach at every debate on risk — and its mirror image: Panikmache.
CEFR C1Frequency ●●●●●
Your memory
New
Learning
Familiar
Strong
Mastered
Conjugation
- ich
- verharmlose
- du
- verharmlost
- er/sie/es
- verharmlost
- wir
- verharmlosen
- ihr
- verharmlost
- sie/Sie
- verharmlosen
Perfekt hat verharmlostPräteritum verharmloste
One word, many lives
Tap a meaning. Real German isn't a dictionary translation.
verharmlosen
to play down (a danger, a problem)
Wer die Folgen verharmlost, handelt verantwortungslos.
Anyone who plays down the consequences acts irresponsibly.
Word family
verharmlosenharmlosharmlessdie Verharmlosungtrivialisationdie Harmlosigkeitharmlessness
Common combinations
- die Gefahr verharmlosento play down the danger
- etwas als … verharmlosento dismiss something as …
Similar & opposite
≈ Synonyms
herunterspielenbagatellisieren
↔ Opposites
dramatisierenübertreiben
Common learner mistakes
- Er hat die Gefahr harmlos gemacht.Er hat die Gefahr verharmlost.harmlos machen means actually making something harmless; verharmlosen means only making it look harmless.
Real examples
- Die Risiken der Hitze werden oft verharmlost.The risks of heat are often played down.
- Ich will nichts verharmlosen, aber auch keine Panik machen.I don't want to play anything down, but I don't want to cause panic either.
- In den Neunzigerjahren verharmloste man das Problem noch als natürliche Schwankung.In the nineties people still dismissed the problem as a natural fluctuation.
