undersong of doubt
- noun
- Literature
:
sombra de duda
- There was an undersong of doubt in her voice.
Examples
-
There was an undersong of doubt in his mind as he made the decision.
-
Despite his confidence, an undersong of doubt lingered.
-
Despite her confident speech, an undersong of doubt ran beneath her words.
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His optimism was genuine, but an undersong of doubt colored his thoughts throughout the day.
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There was an undersong of doubt in his mind as he made the decision.
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Despite her confident speech, an undersong of doubt ran beneath her words.
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His optimism was genuine, but an undersong of doubt colored his thoughts throughout the day.
Synonyms
∞
1.6
A feeling of not being sure about something
296
4.0
Not being sure about what will happen or what to do
35
8.4
A feeling of doubt or unease about whether you are doing the right thing
27
5.9
A feeling of doubt or worry about whether something will turn out well
2
3.8
A small feeling that something might not be true
1
6.7
A feeling of doubt and worry about what will happen
1
7.9
A very small feeling that something may not be true
1
4.9
A very small feeling of being unsure about something
A feeling of doubt or low confidence
A feeling of not being sure about something
A state of not knowing what will happen
A feeling of not being sure or confident about something
A feeling of doubt or uncertainty about something
A feeling of worry that makes you unable to relax
Antonyms
How Doubtful
∞
1.6
- Literature
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'undersong' (an underlying soft sound or theme) with 'doubt', so the sense of a background or underlying feeling of uncertainty is directly derivable from the constituents. The noun + of + noun construction is a regular, compositional pattern in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a learner who knows the component words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase undersong of doubt makes a simple image: imagine a soft song playing under louder sounds, always there but easy to miss. That quiet 'feeling' of 'uncertainty' under other thoughts is why the phrase means a small, lasting doubt in the background.