I can't think of the word and it's been bothering me for some time now. I have attempted to reverse search it, to no avail. If someone could oblige me with the word whose definition means to oversimplify an often complex issue, I would most appreciate it!
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6umm, that's what oversimplify means. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oversimplify – dnagirl Dec 19 '14 at 15:41
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I agree with @dnagirl Can you explain how oversimplify is not the term you seek? – Minnow Dec 19 '14 at 15:49
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1Minimize: - To represent as having the least degree of importance, value, or size. – user66974 Dec 19 '14 at 15:49
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1Also see linked questions What’s a common phrase that means “To put it simply though not 100% correctly”? and A word for “to make something bland and boring” – James Waldby - jwpat7 Dec 19 '14 at 16:50
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1How can this be marked as duplicate? It clearly has very different answers. – Octopus Jul 19 '17 at 20:54
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To dumb down something.
Dumbing down:
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And melding the two transitively means 'make a complex issue seem more simple, usually ending up with an unsatisfactory explanation'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 19 '14 at 20:26
To trivialize is to make something seem less important or serious than it really is. It can be extended to mean "oversimplify".
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"Trivialise" is a great single-word choice, but it's less commonly used in a purely technical context. Example: "I don't want to trivialise this issue with a five-minute soundbite." would be fine if you're discussing geopolitics, but sounds weird if you're discussing string theory. In the latter case, I would say something else, e.g. "The theory is too involved for me to go into sufficient detail in just five minutes, so let's hold discussion over." – Deepak Dec 19 '14 at 16:48
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I never said it wasn't. But it's not a purely technical issue, in the narrow sense of something related to mathematics or hard science. I'm saying that the word "trivialise" is probably less suitable in the latter contexts (but fine for something like geopolitics or philosophy). – Deepak Dec 19 '14 at 17:10
To gloss something means to provide a brief explanation of an obscure word of expression, and the word is commonly extended to ideas as as well. Of course, a brief explanation of a complex subject can't help but oversimplify it, otherwise it wouldn't be brief.
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