underexpose
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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photog to expose (a film, plate, or paper) for too short a period or with insufficient light so as not to produce the required effect
-
(often passive) to fail to subject to appropriate or expected publicity
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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underexposesimple
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underexposessimple
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have underexposedperfect
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has underexposedperfect
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am underexposingprogressive
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are underexposingprogressive
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is underexposingprogressive
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have been underexposingperfect progressive
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has been underexposingperfect progressive
Past
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underexposedsimple
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had underexposedperfect
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was underexposingprogressive
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were underexposingprogressive
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had been underexposingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of underexpose
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
RAW photos have a great deal of latitude, too, but when shooting with this system, I found that it was better to underexpose than overexpose.
From The Verge ● Sep. 8, 2022
Bright, reflective snow can trick your light meter, causing auto exposure to underexpose and create gray snow.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2021
If I underexpose an image, purposely, it’s not looked at as simply my perspective or personal aesthetic.
From New York Times ● May 20, 2021
Robert Trevis-Smith used a clever technique to underexpose this image and said: “It works best with blackbirds because they sort of blend into the dark background.”
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2013
They overexpose it, underexpose it, triple-expose it, superimpose three film tracks on a fourth, mix black and white, sepia and full color in the same shot.
From Time Magazine Archive
Goldman Sachs research shows global investors remain underexposed to China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
McElligott believes this market upswing could go on for a while, because of just how underexposed investors have been.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
Yet in the main, Ireland's squad - outside their starting XV and a handful of select others - feels underexposed to the highest level of Test rugby.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
Chris Murphy, co-head of derivative strategy at Susquehanna Financial Group, believes investors are underexposed to stocks after cutting down positions as equities fell over the last few months.
From Reuters ● Nov. 8, 2023
But it was so underexposed that it seemed not a picture of a guru, but rather a mug-shot of a ghost with high cheekbones.
From Take Me for a Ride: coming of age in a destructive cult by Laxer, Mark Eliot
The problem: “Because I’m underexposing the image, the actors’ faces get quite dark, so you need to shine really bright lights on Gary and Amanda’s faces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2021
By underexposing his shots, he made the colors became more saturated.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2017
You can make the case that someone like Alex Webb was underexposing Kodachrome 20 years ago, printing Cibachromes from it and getting vibrant colors.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2010
Some photographers have been led to think that by underexposing they retain the distance, but they sacrifice the foreground; besides, it does not produce an orthochromatic effect.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
