What does underestimate mean?
Word: Underestimate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Underestimate means to think that something is smaller, easier or less important than it really is, or that a person is less able than they are.
Synonyms: underrate, belittle
Antonyms: overrate
How do you spell underestimate?
Syllables: un - der - es - ti - mate
Tricky part: The middle beat is ti, with an i, not te, and the word ends in ate.
Watch out for: underestemate, underestimat, underestimete
Memory tip: Underestimate has three e's but only one i, and that lone i is the letter people most often turn into an e.
Underestimate in a sentence
Example 1: Never underestimate how long a big project will take.
Example 2: The visiting team underestimated our school's young goalkeeper.
Example 3: We underestimated the traffic and reached the station just in time.
Fun Fact
Psychologists have found that people usually underestimate how long tasks will take; they call this the planning fallacy.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: underestimate
a) overlook
b) misjudge
c) overestimate
d) undervalue
Show answer
c) overestimate. To overestimate is to guess too high, the opposite of guessing too low.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
underrestimate
a) r
b) s
c) t
d) e
Show answer
a) r. Under ends in a single r, and estimate begins with e, so no second r is needed.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) occurence
b) underestimate
c) neccessary
d) definately
Show answer
b) underestimate. Underestimate is fine; occurrence needs two r's, definitely has an i and necessary has one c.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Leena thought the trip would cost 500 pounds, but it cost 2,000 pounds. What went wrong?
a) she lost her purse
b) she guessed far too high
c) she guessed far too low
d) she paid twice
Show answer
c) she guessed far too low
2. Which saying warns people not to underestimate someone?
a) Look before you leap.
b) The early bird catches the worm.
c) Don't judge a book by its cover.
d) Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Show answer
c) Don't judge a book by its cover.
