What's the difference between less and understate?

Less


Definition:

  • (conj.) Unless.
  • (a.) Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter; inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size or value; in less time than before.
  • (adv.) Not so much; in a smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or loud; less beautiful.
  • (n.) A smaller portion or quantity.
  • (n.) The inferior, younger, or smaller.
  • (v. t.) To make less; to lessen.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) However, patients with GGBHS were significantly older (P less than .05).
  • (2) The percentage of people with less than 10 TU titers is under 5% after the age of 5 years up to 15 years; from 15 to 60 years there are no subjects with undetectable ASO titer and after this age the percentage is still under 5%.
  • (3) Neuromedin B (C50 6 x 10(-12) M) was 3 times less potent than bombesin-14.
  • (4) The patterns observed were: clusters of granules related to the cell membrane; positive staining localized to portions of the cell membrane, and, less commonly, the whole cell circumference.
  • (5) This suggested that the chemical effects produced by shock waves were either absent or attenuated in the cells, or were inherently less toxic than those of ionizing irradiation.
  • (6) Patients with papillary carcinoma with a good cell-mediated immune response occurred with much lower infiltration of the tumor boundary with lymphocyte whereas the follicular carcinoma less cell-mediated immunity was associated with dense lymphocytic infiltration, suggesting the biological relevance of lymphocytic infiltration may be different for the two histologic variants.
  • (7) In contrast, resting cells of strain CHA750 produced five times less IAA in a buffer (pH 6.0) containing 1 mM-L-tryptophan than did resting cells of the wild-type, illustrating the major contribution of TSO to IAA synthesis under these conditions.
  • (8) This bone could not be degraded by human monocytes in vitro as well as control bone (only 54% of control; P less than 0.003).
  • (9) Arachidic acid was without effect, while linoleic acid and linolenic acid were (on a concentration basis) at least 5-times less active than arachidonic acid.
  • (10) Urinary ANF immunoreactivity was significantly enhanced by candoxatril in both groups (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01 in groups 1 and 2, respectively), with a more pronounced effect evident at the higher dose (P less than 0.01).
  • (11) However, dexamethasone was more effective than either prednisone or cortisol (P less than 0.001).
  • (12) With UVB treatment clinical improvement was achieved, and a less pronounced decrease in epidermal LC was noticed.
  • (13) In the bars of Antwerp and the cafes of Bruges, the talk is less of Christmas markets and hot chocolate than of the rising cost of financing a national debt which stands at 100% of annual national income.
  • (14) When perfusion of the affected lung was less than one-third of the total the tumour was found to be unresectable.
  • (15) This clinical improvement was also associated with a decrease of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p less than 0.001), decrease of C-reactive protein (p less than 0.0001) and with improvement of anaemia (p less than 0.05).
  • (16) However, the groups often paused less and responded faster than individual rats working under identical conditions.
  • (17) By 24 hr, rough endoplasmic reticulum in thecal cells increased from 4.2 to 7% of cell volume, while the amount in granulosa cells increased from less than 3.5% to more than 10%; the quantity remained relatively constant in the theca but declined to prestimulation values in the granulosa layer.
  • (18) Acceptance of less than ideal donors is ill-advised even though rejection of such donors conflicts with the current shortage of organs.
  • (19) Ten out of 12 (83%) tumours which had c-erbB-2 and c-erbA co-amplification had metastasised to axillary lymph nodes (P less than 0.006).
  • (20) Despite of the increasing diagnostic importance of the direct determination of the parathormone which is at first available only in special institutions in these cases methodical problems play a less important part than the still not infrequent appearing misunderstanding of the adequate basic disease.

Understate


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To state or represent less strongly than may be done truthfully.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The former soldiers we spoke to, and their families, fear a report that will understate combat-related PTSD as a contributory factor.
  • (2) They are compared with reported incidence of lesions from the Onchocerciasis Control Programme: they are in good agreement for those aged under 30 years, but they understate the observed decline in older subjects.
  • (3) Sue: Troughton's taste in hats make that fez look positively understated.
  • (4) A small number of contactless transactions could be made before the card is blocked However, the figure could understate the true level of losses as many customers are unaware that they can still be defrauded after reporting a card as stolen or lost.
  • (5) He may be quiet and he may be understated, but he is ruthlessly competitive with a relentless drive towards one aim: to succeed.
  • (6) She talks about her "feminine and understated" negotiating style, and how helpful it is, though frankly, her immediate stance on Greece – belt up and get on with it – won't strike protesting Greeks as at all understated, I shouldn't think.
  • (7) "The full impact of the coalition government's planned fiscal tightening has been understated," said John Philpott, chief economist at the CIPD.
  • (8) That enthusiasm for elegant, understated clothing and bags has paid off, as Prada has bucked the downturn to open stores around the world – 63 in the year to last September – and rack up €409m (£352m) in profit in the first three quarters of 2012, a huge rise of 50% year on year, boosted by an increase of 41% in Asian sales.
  • (9) Her calm, understated style is perfect for Aberdovey, and would not be out of place in coolest Cornwall or even California, where she and husband Gareth used to live.
  • (10) "Had General Dostum gone to another ticket, my winning would have become theoretical," Ghani said in the conservatory of his understated home in west Kabul, shortly before the Helmand gathering.
  • (11) This had the effect of incorrectly understating both our receipts and payments as reported on the original return which have now been corrected in the amended return.” “We have implemented measures to ensure that these errors are not repeated in future annual returns.” The donation amendments were revealed by DisclosureBot , a Twitter bot that tweets whenever political parties file donation amendments , or when politicians update their register of interests.
  • (12) One wonders what his defense minister Ehud Barak and the former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, and other Israeli leaders who disagree with him in his analysis of the urgency of the Iranian nuclear threat, think of his public commitment to such a fraught – that understates it – such a perilous and perhaps impracticable military operation.
  • (13) But the more understated David Tanner, GB Rowing performance director, and sailing's ebullient Stephen Park have been equally influential in their own sports.
  • (14) VW could face billions in car tax repayments over latest CO2 scandal Read more VW admitted in September to cheating tests for emissions of nitrogen oxides and the scandal widened with the company’s revelation last week that it had also understated carbon dioxide emissions.
  • (15) My friends and the teachers were just the same, and in my science class we managed to watch the game again.” To say Ibe is close to his parents would be understating the case.
  • (16) Statistical association of alleles may cause estimates based on the assumption of statistical independence to understate the true matching probabilities by many orders of magnitude.
  • (17) To the extent that the implant superimposition is to be considered the true and correct one, the anatomical best fit superimposition appears to understate the true downward remodeling of the palate by an average of about 0.3 and 0.4 mm per year, although this value differs at different ages and timepoints.
  • (18) Bottle Rocket , a heist movie released in 1996, was understated, amusing, very original and a commercial flop.
  • (19) If so, it would seem likely to overcome one of the most understated but nonetheless greatest difficulties associated with molecular modelling and computer-aided drug design--reproducibility.
  • (20) Happy Valley review: understated, refreshing – and with bodies already piling up Read more This should come as no surprise given that Sally Wainwright , the show’s creator, has been responsible for what feels like every British hit save for Downton Abbey in the past few years: Last Tango in Halifax , which also played well in the US; and the crime drama Scott and Bailey .