underlie
verb (used with object)
to lie under or beneath; be situated under.
was underlying
-
past progressiveof underlie.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The unalterably dead-pan Cantlay was a constant reminder that there was underlying serious business afoot.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2025
You certainly want to look at what the study design was underlying, of there was even a study.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2022
And there was, underlying everything else, the sense of himself as the indispensable man.
From US News ● Jul. 22, 2016
The cause for regressive encephalopathy in Hannah at age 19 months was underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, exacerbated by vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic energy reserves.
From Time ● May 31, 2013
Here again how little did the speaker know how much earnest there was underlying this promise.
From In the Whirl of the Rising by Bertram Mitford
