a slight underestimate

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a slight underestimate" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing an estimation that is lower than the actual value, but only by a small margin. Example: "The report indicated a slight underestimate of the project's total costs, which led to budget adjustments."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

31 human-written examples

This proved to be a slight underestimate.

Independent

This may be a slight underestimate, in fact.

The New York Times

Medion rates the battery life of the tablet at just four hours, which might be a slight underestimate according to my testing.

The Guardian - Tech

But based on the rangers' observations in all three countries, experts recently assembled the estimate of 358 gorillas in the Virunga range -- which Ms. Lanjouw said she believes is a slight underestimate.

The New York Times

Our experimental results shown in Fig. 4a, b agree well with our simulation (solid blue lines), differing only by a slight underestimate of the oscillation amplitude and a corresponding small velocity offset.

Nature

The R2 value for a line of best fit for the predicted and measured ratio was 0.986 indicating an excellent fit, and the gradient of the line was 0.935, indicating that the predicted value is a slight underestimate of the coefficient of friction; this could be due to the assumption of unbending pillars.

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

29 human-written examples

This would effectively reduce the incidence of events during the lead in period, leading to a slight underestimate of the risk in the baseline period.

British Medical Journal

A close inspection of the fit to the Tg KRT5-CreER); Rosa26R-fGFP daTg KRT5-CreERat the model provides a consistent slight underestimate of single SecC clones.

Cell Reports

In particular, we used repeated 10-fold cross validation to provide a nearly unbiased assessment (slight underestimate) of classifier performance [ 25].

BMC Medical Genomics

If so, our PPVs are slight underestimates.

British Journal of Cancer

Thus, the numbers describing adverse family life events may be slight underestimates.

BMC Psychiatry

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "a slight underestimate" to acknowledge a minor discrepancy without overstating the significance of the error. This conveys transparency and accuracy.

Common error

Avoid exaggerating the consequences of "a slight underestimate". If the underestimation is truly minor, emphasizing it too much can create unnecessary concern or distrust.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a slight underestimate" functions as a qualifier to a noun, typically referring to a numerical value, quantity, or assessment. It indicates that the actual value is somewhat higher than the estimated value. Ludwig AI confirms its usability and grammatical correctness.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

40%

News & Media

30%

Formal & Business

30%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "a slight underestimate" is a grammatically sound and usable expression that signifies a minor error in an initial assessment or calculation. Ludwig confirms its correctness and highlights its common usage in scientific, news, and formal business contexts. When employing this phrase, it's crucial to contextualize the object being underestimated and avoid exaggerating its consequences. The alternatives include "minor underestimation" or "small miscalculation". Its primary function is to acknowledge a small discrepancy without implying significant ramifications.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a minor underestimation

Replaces "slight" with "minor" and "underestimate" with "underestimation" to convey a similar meaning with different wording.

a minimal underestimation

Uses "minimal" to describe the degree of underestimation.

a small miscalculation

Substitutes "slight underestimate" with "small miscalculation", emphasizing the error in calculation.

a marginal undervaluation

Replaces "slight" with "marginal" and "underestimate" with "undervaluation", focusing on the act of undervaluing.

a conservative approximation

Emphasizes that the estimation is on the lower side, being cautious or conservative.

a modest underrating

Uses "modest" instead of "slight" and "underrating" instead of "underestimate" to convey a similar meaning of a small degree of underrating.

a limited misjudgment

Highlights the error in judgment, but indicates it's not significant.

a fractional undercount

Specific to situations where counting is involved; indicates the count is slightly lower than actual.

a tame understatement

Replaces "underestimate" with "understatement", implying the reality is greater than presented; uses "tame" to mean small.

a negligible underassessment

Indicates the underassessment is so small that it is almost not worth considering.

FAQs

How can I use "a slight underestimate" in a sentence?

You can use "a slight underestimate" when you want to indicate that a value or assessment is somewhat lower than the actual or expected value. For example: "The initial cost projection was "a slight underestimate" of the total expenses."

What can I say instead of "a slight underestimate"?

You can use alternatives like "minor underestimation", "small miscalculation", or "conservative approximation" depending on the context.

When is it appropriate to use the phrase "a slight underestimate"?

It's appropriate to use "a slight underestimate" when you want to acknowledge a minor error in an estimate without exaggerating its importance. This is useful when the error doesn't significantly impact the overall outcome or conclusion.

What's the difference between "a slight underestimate" and "a gross underestimate"?

"A slight underestimate" indicates that the estimated value is only a little lower than the actual value. "A gross underestimate", on the other hand, means that the estimated value is significantly lower than the actual value, indicating a much larger error.