undertone

undertone
[[t]ʌ̱ndə(r)toʊn[/t]]
undertones
1) N-COUNT: in N If you say something in an undertone, you say it very quietly.

`What d'you think?' she asked in an undertone...

Well-dressed clients were talking in polite undertones as they ate.

2) N-COUNT: with supp If something has undertones of a particular kind, it suggests ideas or attitudes of this kind without expressing them directly.

The sobbing voice had an undertone of anger.

...a witty, racy story with surprisingly serious undertones.


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • UnderTone — est un rappeur solo français originaire de Toulouse. Son label est What?Rekordz , distribué par Believe France. Il collabore avec divers producteurs musicaux outre Atlantique, des artistes et MC internationaux (États Unis, Allemagne, Angleterre,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Undertone — can mean: *An underlying or implied tendency or meaning; an undercurrent *An element of an undertone series; a pitch whose frequency is an integral fraction of another *The Irish rock band The Undertones …   Wikipedia

  • undertone — [un′dərtōn΄] n. 1. a low tone of sound or voice 2. a faint or subdued color, esp. one seen through other colors, as in some glazes 3. any underlying quality, factor, element, etc. [an undertone of horror] …   English World dictionary

  • Undertone — Un der*tone , n. A low or subdued tone or utterance; a tone less loud than usual. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • undertone — (n.) 1762, low or subdued tone, from UNDER (Cf. under) + TONE (Cf. tone). Figurative sense of undercurrent of feelings, etc., is attested from 1861 …   Etymology dictionary

  • undertone — [n] suggestion, whisper association, atmosphere, buzz, connotation, feeling, flavor, hint, hum, implication, low tone, mumble, murmur, mutter, overtone, rumor, tinge, touch, trace, undercurrent; concepts 65,682 …   New thesaurus

  • undertone — ► NOUN 1) a subdued or muted tone of sound or colour. 2) an underlying quality or feeling …   English terms dictionary

  • undertone — un|der|tone [ˈʌndətəun US dərtoun] n 1.) a feeling or quality that is not directly expressed but can still be recognized →↑overtone undertone of ▪ There was an undertone of sadness in her letter. ▪ Opponents claim the policy has racist undertones …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • undertone — UK [ˈʌndə(r)ˌtəʊn] / US [ˈʌndərˌtoʊn] noun [countable] Word forms undertone : singular undertone plural undertones something that suggests a particular idea or feeling without directly saying or showing it a humorous article with an undertone of… …   English dictionary

  • undertone — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ dark, sinister ▪ subtle ▪ bitter, sarcastic ▪ racist, sexual ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

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