undercurrent of sadness
- noun
:
corriente subyacente de tristeza
- Even during the celebration, there was an undercurrent of sadness in her voice that hinted at her recent loss.
Examples
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As the children played, their laughter masked an undercurrent of sadness in the parents, who were facing tough times.
-
Only Paul, who had this second sense about me, gazed at me and saw the undercurrent of sadness that ran just below my laughter and grins.
Fiction book (1995) -
When your grandma asks if you're seeing anyone and you say "no," there's an undercurrent of sadness to your voice that wasn't there before.
Blog text (34) -
The artist's latest painting, full of vibrant colors, concealed an undercurrent of sadness in its darker tones.
Synonyms
229
1.0
A feeling of being unhappy
46
3.2
A feeling of sadness and low spirits
12
6.7
A hidden meaning under what someone says or does
1
6.5
A serious, sad mood that feels quiet and heavy
1
3.4
A feeling of sadness and little hope felt by people or in a place
1
6.5
A deep, quiet feeling or look of sadness
A quiet feeling of sadness and low spirits
A feeling of being sad and having little hope
A feeling of being sad or low
A time when someone feels sad and without energy
A feeling of deep sadness and loss
A deep feeling of sadness about a loss
Antonyms
How Sad
Surface Forms
Morphology
undercurrent + of + sadness
The noun 'undercurrent' already encodes a concealed or subdued tendency, so combined with 'sadness' the phrase straightforwardly denotes a hidden or subtle feeling of sorrow. This is a compositional, productive metaphor following normal noun + of + noun patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The expression undercurrent of sadness comes from the picture of water: an undercurrent is a strong flow that moves under a calm surface. So an undercurrent of sadness means a quiet, 'hidden' sadness that lies 'beneath' a person's outward mood.