undertone
a low or subdued tone: to speak in undertones.
an unobtrusive or background sound: an undertone of static from the receiver.
an underlying quality or element; undercurrent: There was an undertone of regret in his refusal.
a subdued color; a color modified by an underlying color.
Origin of undertone
1Words Nearby undertone
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use undertone in a sentence
Nancy Drew gave way to Hitchcockian psychological thriller with undertones of Crime and Punishment.
The More Bonkers Search Party Got, the More Authentically It Captured Millennial Adulthood | Judy Berman | January 7, 2022 | TimeHe deftly swerved around his opposition and its racial undertones to guide a country through some gnarly moments of racial reckoning.
A New Documentary Reminds Viewers of Barack Obama’s Pure Political Skill | Philip Elliott | August 5, 2021 | TimeSince then I have been able to think with out the dark undertone in mind of nothing matters.
It’s an argument with classist and racial undertones, and also lacks supporting evidence.
What Rohingya refugees can teach US governors about the importance of work | Oliver Staley | June 22, 2021 | QuartzLike Buckhead, many of the movements have racial undertones.
Amid surge in violent crime, Atlanta’s wealthiest neighborhood ponders new city | Tim Craig | May 31, 2021 | Washington Post
Smith speaks with perfect articulation and a vacuous undertone laces her words.
David E. Kelley's The Crazy Ones got some huge support from Tassler "It has a great emotional undertone to the piece," she said.
I heard then a sigh next to me that had an undertone not unlike a snarl.
Remembering Nora Ephron as Our Dorothy Parker, but More | Stephen Schiff | June 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe undertone riffs off the “un-American” implications of the 2008 campaign directed at then-Sen.
“Reduced counsels,” interposed Mr. Weller senior, in an undertone.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2) | Charles DickensGradually and stealthily the king of the forest drew near, muttering to himself, as it were, in an undertone.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneHe glanced at the watch upon his wrist, adjusted his monocle, and said something in an undertone to the captain.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le QueuxThe pair, seated away in a corner, had been chatting in an undertone when they were compelled to rise.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le QueuxDunwoodie spoke a few words with Henry in an undertone, and hastened from the apartment, followed by Frances.
The Spy | J. Fenimore Cooper
British Dictionary definitions for undertone
/ (ˈʌndəˌtəʊn) /
a quiet or hushed tone of voice
an underlying tone or suggestion in words or actions: his offer has undertones of dishonesty
a pale or subdued colour
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
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