underlyingadjective [ before noun ]
uk/ˌʌn.dəˈlaɪ.ɪŋ/us/ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪ.ɪŋ/underlying adjective [ before noun ] (NOT OBVIOUS)
C2 real but not immediately obvious:
And what might be the underlying significance of these supposedly random acts?
More examples
- On the surface it's a very funny novel but it does have a more serious underlying theme.
- The underlying message of the film is that love transcends everything else.
- We need to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and suffering.
- It is important to look at all the underlying causes of the conflict.
- An underlying pessimism infuses all her novels.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Digressing and being indirect or evasive
- beat
- discursive
- elliptical
- euphemism
- evasive
- go (all) round the houses idiom
- go off on a tangent idiom
- implicit
- move off sth/on (to sth)
- obliquely
- parry
- roundabout
- sanitize
- sidestep
- skirt
- suggestion
- talk around sth
- tangent
- tiptoe
- tiptoe around sth/sb
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underlying adjective [ before noun ] (BASED ON)
used to describe something on which something else is based:
The price of the investment fell below the value of the underlying assets.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Essential or necessary
- a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do idiom
- basically
- basis
- be a question of doing sth idiom
- business-critical
- dependence
- elemental
- if/when push comes to shove idiom
- imply
- incumbent
- indispensable
- inherent
- integral
- need
- needed
- needful
- occasion
- on a need-to-know basis idiom
- owe
- warrant
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underlying adjective [ before noun ] (UNDER)
positioned under the surface of something:
The currents are affected by the shape of the underlying rocks.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Under & below
- below
- beneath
- low
- lower
- neath
- nether
- sub
- under
- under
- underfoot
- underneath