No. 12,261 in German
verharmlosung
"Verharmlosung" means "trivialization" or "downplaying something's seriousness."
In a sentence
Die Verharmlosung der Gefahren des Rauchens kann zu ernsthaften Missverständnissen führen.
The trivialization of the dangers of smoking can lead to serious misunderstandings.
In this sentence, 'verharmlosung' is used as a noun to describe the act of trivializing a serious issue, namely the health risks of smoking.
Man sollte keine Verharmlosung von Kriminalität zulassen, denn das untergräbt das Vertrauen in die Justiz.
One should not allow the downplaying of crime, as it undermines trust in the judiciary.
Here, 'verharmlosung' refers to the act of making crimes appear less serious than they are, emphasizing the consequences of such an attitude.
Die Diskussion zeigte eine klare Verharmlosung der Umweltprobleme, was die Dringlichkeit von Maßnahmen ignoriert.
The discussion revealed a clear trivialization of environmental issues, ignoring the urgency of action.
In this usage, 'verharmlosung' is used to critique a tendency to dismiss or diminish the perceived severity of environmental problems.
Hear it in real podcasts
The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “verharmlosung” in actual German podcasts.
Find “verharmlosung” in podcastsLearn it from shows you like
LangTurbo plays German podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there. For iPhone, iPad and Android.
Learning English?
LangTurbo plays real English podcasts with every line translated into Deutsch, and tells you what any word means in that sentence. For iPhone, iPad and Android.
German books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).