misemphasize

verb

1. To emphasize incorrectly or inappropriately.

   “But the widespread interest in intercollegiate debating and proper gratitude for what it has done to stimulate a study of the different forms of public discourse have led undergraduates, graduates, and even teachers, I think, greatly to misemphasize its importance in the field of study under discussion this morning — public discourse.”

   “Instructions must accurately state the law, and must not mislead the jury or misemphasize some element.”

   “Recent reformers like St. Dominic and St. Francis, he suggests, misemphasize certain aspects of the Christian religion: they emphasize the poverty and self-abnegation of Christ's life and preach the deferring of punishment for the wicked”