What's the difference between less and understatement?

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.

Understatement


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of understating, or the condition of being understated; that which is understated; a statement below the truth.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) RBS chief executive Ross McEwan apologised to consumers: “To say I’m angry would be an understatement.
  • (2) To say that the loss of BB King is devastating to the blues community is an understatement.
  • (3) With understatement, he added: "I don't feel comfortable."
  • (4) Heaton’s recollections are heavy on understatement.
  • (5) Since that strangely undeserved result in Madrid last November, PSG have gone on a run that makes convincing seem like an understatement.
  • (6) With some understatement, Thompson said: "We've weathered a series of lively storms and been through some trying as well as some very successful times together.
  • (7) In light of the opening episode, that seems like an understatement.
  • (8) That the act outraged public decency is an understatement.
  • (9) Unfortunately, we had to lower the number of people,” he says, in something of an understatement, adding that he used redeployment and natural turnover as much as possible.
  • (10) He starts by discussing the economic climate – saying that eurozone economic growth remains "weak" (an understatement), with fears over the crisis weighing on confidence and sentiment.
  • (11) Furthermore, perhaps calling Corbyn a “harsh critic” is an understatement in light of some of his statements.
  • (12) Courtesy the estate of Richard Hamilton That Hamilton was anti-capitalist is an understatement.
  • (13) That is an understatement because the expectations were high.
  • (14) To say that the 170-year history of the Co-op Group is complicated would be a howling understatement.
  • (15) Late-night tales: how a new crop of TV hosts is reinventing an old format Read more First, to say it’s a “hit” is an understatement – it’s a phenomenon.
  • (16) And to say Fifa has been dismayed by this burst of democratic dissent is an understatement.
  • (17) It will be difficult to keep them all happy.” That might be the understatement of the year.
  • (18) Volunteer complaints panel To say the public has little faith in the Independent Police Complaints Commission would be an understatement.
  • (19) With the organisation reeling from a string of corruption allegations against 10 of the 24-man executive committee, Jérôme Valcke , Fifa's secretary general, admitted with grim understatement that Fifa's reputation is: "Not at its highest."
  • (20) Fits like a brick To say that it is unclear quite how Beats and Apple would fit is be an understatement.