Underprioritise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Assigning less importance or urgency to a task, issue or goal than it deserves, so it is attended to too late or not at all
2. Failing to rank something high enough on a list of concerns, which leaves it neglected relative to more pressing matters
3. Treating a matter as less pressing than it really is, thereby allowing it to be delayed or overlooked in favour of others

Etymology: "Priority" began as a word about sequence rather than importance. Latin "prior" meant "former" or "earlier," a comparative formed from "pro," "before." Something that came first in order came to count for more, and English took the noun from medieval Latin "prioritas" in the sense of precedence in time or rank. "Prioritise" is a verb built from that noun, meaning to arrange things so that some come first. "Under-" is an English prefix from Old English, meaning "below" or "not enough." So "underprioritise" means to give something too little priority. It is a plain English formation, with no older verb behind it.

Synonyms: deprioritise, demote, downgrade

Antonyms: prioritise