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subtext

[suhb-tekst]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR subtext ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the underlying or implicit meaning, as of a literary work.

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RELATED WORDS

connotation, implication, association, coloring, hint, nuance, undertone, meaning, understanding

Nearby words

  1. subternatural,
  2. subterrane,
  3. subterranean,
  4. subterrene,
  5. subterrestrial,
  6. subthalamic nucleus,
  7. subthalamus,
  8. subtherapeutic,
  9. subthreshold,
  10. subthreshold stimulus

Origin of subtext

1945–50; translation of Russian podtékst; see sub-, text
Related formssub·tex·tu·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for subtext

British Dictionary definitions for subtext

subtext

noun

an underlying theme in a piece of writing
a message which is not stated directly but can be inferred
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for subtext

subtext

n.

"underlying theme of a work of literature, 1950, from sub- + text. Originally a term in Konstantin Stanislavsky's theory of acting. Earlier it was used in a literally sense of "text appearing below other text on a page" (1726).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper