To underestimate or undervalue something or someone. It involves assessing something at a lower value, importance, or capability than it actually possesses. This can apply to people, their skills, potential, or achievements, as well as to objects, situations, or concepts. Underrating often stems from a lack of information, bias, prejudice, or simply a failure to fully grasp the true scope or significance. It can lead to missed opportunities, poor judgment, and a failure to fully appreciate the subject in question.
Underrates meaning with examples
- The manager underrates the new employee's potential, assigning them only menial tasks. He fails to recognize the employee's proactive ideas and technical skills, and therefore misses out on valuable contributions to the project. This underestimation, based on initial impressions, hinders the employee's growth and overall team performance. Ignoring the workers capabilities can hurt the success of a business.
- Critics often underrates the artist's early work, dismissing it as immature or derivative. Years later, when the artist’s style matures and they gain international recognition, these same pieces are reassessed and praised for their innovative qualities. This retrospective evaluation shows how easily things of value can be initially misinterpreted.
- We must be careful not to underrates the challenges ahead, the obstacles may be greater than expected. The financial crisis's extent and complexity was initially underestimated by many economic analysts. This led to inadequate preventative measures and an unprepared response, proving that acknowledging the full scope of an event is key to the success of any project.
- Some people tend to underrates the importance of regular exercise and healthy eating. They might think that these practices have little impact on their overall well-being, despite substantial evidence to the contrary. They might be ignoring the long-term benefits these changes have, leading to health complications down the line.