undertone
16
6.7
- noun
- /ˈʌndərˌtoʊn/
- The artist's painting had a vibrant color scheme, but an undertone of melancholy could be felt in the shadows.
- political undertones
- implicit undertones
- sexual undertones
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Watch on YouTubeIt kind of smells like mostly marketing, but with a subtle undertone of extra PCI Express lanes.
- It kind of smells like mostly marketing, but with a subtle undertone of extra PCI Express lanes.
- I don't know that I'm like vibing on the undertone of this.
- And with a grimace or but it was an undertone there because we was rivals, simple as that.
Examples
-
Its voice was quiet and furry, but there was an undertone of irony in it.
Fiction book (1993) -
It's a little bit dark, but the undertone is spot on.
-
"Were you born like this?" His voice carried an undertone of hope.
Fiction book (1996) -
There's always an undertone that things might get out of control.
-
The season is joyous; yet the undertone is increasingly stern.
Academic text (2017) -
Finally, the run-up to the elections was dominated by an undertone of fear.
Academic text (1994) -
Over the months of accusation, her beautiful voice shifted its undertone from disbelief to doubt to despair.
Fiction book (1993) -
The cultural clashes and anti-intellectual undertones are not hard to find between the working-class waitress and the university researchers.
Academic text (2014) -
Even though she smiled, there was an undertone of sadness in her voice that revealed her true emotions.
-
The discussion seemed polite on the surface, yet an undertone of tension lingered in the room.
Synonyms
73
5.1
A small difference in meaning or feeling that is hard to notice
37
5.6
A hidden meaning in speech, writing, or art that people do not say directly
21
7.2
A hidden feeling or meaning that people notice beyond the main words
21
6.9
A hidden feeling beneath what someone shows or says
19
7.2
A quiet suggestion that someone did something wrong
1
7.4
A quiet sadness felt beneath a happy or normal mood
1
9.6
A quiet background sound under a louder one like wind or voices
1
8.2
A quality of being suggested or understood without being said directly
Antonyms
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Undertone comes from under- ('below') and tone ('sound' or 'feeling'), so it suggests something felt 'below' the words, which is why an undertone is a hidden feeling or meaning beneath what is openly said.