Which phrase best describes the role of understatement in a written work?

A. to downplay

B. to embellish

C. to symbolize

D. to dramatize

I think you have to downplay, which is A

The phrase that describes the best the role of understatement in a written work.

A. to downplay

Explanation:

An understatement is a figure of speech that modifies the level of consideration a statement has, in other words, it says that something is not that hard, bad, easy or loud. So, it opposes the final adjective and "downplays" the sentence level. That is why "a" is our correct answer. The rest would increase its level of modification.