See undertone on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "under",
"3": "tone"
},
"expansion": "under- + tone",
"name": "prefix"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From under- + tone.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "undertones",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "undertone (countable and uncountable, plural undertones)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:",
"text": "Did he and his master converse? Watt had never heard them do so, as he surely would have done, if they had done so. In an undertone perhaps. Yes, perhaps they conversed in undertones, the master and the servant, in two undertones, the master's undertone, the servant's undertone.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:",
"text": "They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was bright reminder.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An auditory tone of low pitch or volume."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-noun-QDCbsuqT",
"links": [
[
"auditory",
"auditory"
],
[
"tone",
"tone"
],
[
"low",
"low"
],
[
"pitch",
"pitch"
],
[
"volume",
"volume"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "93 2 4 1",
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "poluglas",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "полуглас"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 2 4 1",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ton slab"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 2 4 1",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ton reținut"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 2 4 1",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "semiton"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 2 4 1",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "priglušónnyj gólos",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "приглушённый го́лос"
}
]
},
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "overtone"
}
],
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "1 27 7 29 4 3 30",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "5 21 19 7 12 12 25",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with under-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "2 31 5 29 6 6 23",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 27 5 32 5 3 26",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An implicit message perceived subtly alongside, but not detracting noticeably from, the explicit message conveyed in or by a book, film, speech or similar (contrast with overtone); an undercurrent."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-noun-2SyQW~db",
"links": [
[
"implicit",
"implicit"
],
[
"message",
"message"
],
[
"explicit",
"explicit"
],
[
"overtone",
"overtone#English"
],
[
"undercurrent",
"undercurrent"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "podtekst",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "подтекст"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sous-entendu"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Unterton"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Beigeschmack"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "subînțeles"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "podtékst",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "подте́кст"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "infratono"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "subtono"
},
{
"_dis1": "27 50 19 3",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "underton"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "5 21 19 7 12 12 25",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with under-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A pale colour, or one seen underneath another colour."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-noun-2zN9PXvo",
"links": [
[
"pale",
"pale"
],
[
"colour",
"colour"
],
[
"underneath",
"underneath"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 100 0",
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "poluton",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "полутон"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 100 0",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "nuance"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 100 0",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "njuáns",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "нюа́нс"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 100 0",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "otténok",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "отте́нок"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 100 0",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "polutón",
"sense": "colour",
"word": "полуто́н"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "1 27 7 29 4 3 30",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "2 31 5 29 6 6 23",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 27 5 32 5 3 26",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 23 3 40 3 3 28",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "3 24 12 35 4 3 19",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 22 6 36 7 6 21",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "3 21 6 40 4 4 22",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "3 22 11 37 3 3 20",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Maori translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "3 22 11 37 3 3 20",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "2 21 4 43 4 4 22",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 22 3 44 4 4 22",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "3 22 10 37 4 4 20",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1905, Medical Review, volumes 51-52, page 171:",
"text": "Sedentary occupations are likely to result in undertone, and this undertone not being relieved by physiological means, constipation is a probable outcome.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A low state of the physical faculties."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-noun-DW~kTv~r",
"links": [
[
"physical",
"physical"
],
[
"faculties",
"faculty"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈʌndə(ɹ)təʊn/"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-undertone.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
"word": "underhue"
}
],
"word": "undertone"
}
{
"antonyms": [
{
"sense": "antonym(s) of “present as less important”",
"word": "accent"
},
{
"sense": "antonym(s) of “present as less important”",
"word": "accentuate"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "under",
"3": "tone"
},
"expansion": "under- + tone",
"name": "prefix"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From under- + tone.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "undertones",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "undertoning",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "undertoned",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "undertoned",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "undertone (third-person singular simple present undertones, present participle undertoning, simple past and past participle undertoned)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "5 21 19 7 12 12 25",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with under-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1941, Emily Carr, chapter 1, in Klee Wyck:",
"text": "The Missionary's address rolled on in choppy Chinook, undertoned by a gentle voice from the back of the room which told Tanook in pure Indian words what he was to do.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1951 January, Arthur Leo Zagat, chapter 7, in Fantastic Novels Magazine:",
"text": "Undertoning the howling siren I was aware of a distant swish, like that of a hurricane’s forerunning wind through palm fronds.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To accompany as an undertone."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-verb-mlNSmwwv",
"links": [
[
"accompany",
"accompany"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "5 21 19 7 12 12 25",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with under-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1861, George Meredith, Evan Harrington, Chapter 30, Part 1:",
"text": "Evan paid no attention to him, and answered none of his hasty undertoned questions.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1887, R. M. Ballantyne, chapter 13, in The Big Otter:",
"text": "At first, when the net was being prepared, those children of the forest had merely stood by and looked on with curiosity. When Blondin and his men rowed out from the shore, letting the net drop off the stern of our boat as they went, they indulged in a few guesses and undertoned remarks.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1984, Greg Bear, chapter 11, in Corona, Simon and Schuster, published 2000:",
"text": "“He handles that pallet like it was a mule,” McCoy undertoned, passing Mason. Mason grinned and fell in behind.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1999, Thomas Sullivan, chapter 35, in The Martyring, Crossroad Press, published 2015:",
"text": "“How come there’s never any birds in cemeteries?” Skelote undertoned. “Squirrels, rabbits, but no birds.”",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To say or speak in an undertone."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-verb-Ny0XEep2",
"links": [
[
"say",
"say"
],
[
"speak",
"speak"
]
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "21 79 0",
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "say or utter in an undertone",
"word": "whakakōingoingo"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "1 27 7 29 4 3 30",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "5 21 19 7 12 12 25",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with under-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "2 31 5 29 6 6 23",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 27 5 32 5 3 26",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1866, {unattributed}, Littell's Living Age - Volume 88 - Page 427",
"text": "Men rarely make this mistake, their habitual blunder being to undertone everything, to make too light of Julia's new frock, and Johnnie's symptoms of measles, and the way they waste things down stairs."
},
{
"text": "2010, Maddy Myers, “Arisia 2010: the Sexiest of Sci-Fi Cons,” thephoenix.com, 26 January, 2010,\nIt’s hard enough to separate the geeks from the creeps at your average Anime con (it’s more of a Venn Diagram than an either/or, really). The task becomes even more difficult at Arisia, where the sexual undertones are … not particularly undertoned."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To present as less important, noticeable or prominent."
],
"id": "en-undertone-en-verb-dK6ko9tR",
"links": [
[
"present",
"present"
],
[
"important",
"important"
],
[
"noticeable",
"noticeable"
],
[
"prominent",
"prominent"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "1 0 99",
"sense": "present as less important",
"word": "de-emphasize"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 0 99",
"sense": "present as less important",
"word": "downplay"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈʌndə(ɹ)təʊn/"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-undertone.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.ogg"
}
],
"word": "undertone"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms prefixed with under-",
"English uncountable nouns",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Bulgarian translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Maori translations",
"Terms with Romanian translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "under",
"3": "tone"
},
"expansion": "under- + tone",
"name": "prefix"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From under- + tone.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "undertones",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "undertone (countable and uncountable, plural undertones)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:",
"text": "Did he and his master converse? Watt had never heard them do so, as he surely would have done, if they had done so. In an undertone perhaps. Yes, perhaps they conversed in undertones, the master and the servant, in two undertones, the master's undertone, the servant's undertone.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:",
"text": "They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was bright reminder.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An auditory tone of low pitch or volume."
],
"links": [
[
"auditory",
"auditory"
],
[
"tone",
"tone"
],
[
"low",
"low"
],
[
"pitch",
"pitch"
],
[
"volume",
"volume"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "overtone"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An implicit message perceived subtly alongside, but not detracting noticeably from, the explicit message conveyed in or by a book, film, speech or similar (contrast with overtone); an undercurrent."
],
"links": [
[
"implicit",
"implicit"
],
[
"message",
"message"
],
[
"explicit",
"explicit"
],
[
"overtone",
"overtone#English"
],
[
"undercurrent",
"undercurrent"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"A pale colour, or one seen underneath another colour."
],
"links": [
[
"pale",
"pale"
],
[
"colour",
"colour"
],
[
"underneath",
"underneath"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1905, Medical Review, volumes 51-52, page 171:",
"text": "Sedentary occupations are likely to result in undertone, and this undertone not being relieved by physiological means, constipation is a probable outcome.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A low state of the physical faculties."
],
"links": [
[
"physical",
"physical"
],
[
"faculties",
"faculty"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈʌndə(ɹ)təʊn/"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-undertone.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "underhue"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "poluglas",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "полуглас"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ton slab"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ton reținut"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "semiton"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "priglušónnyj gólos",
"sense": "auditory tone",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "приглушённый го́лос"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "podtekst",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "подтекст"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sous-entendu"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Unterton"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Beigeschmack"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "subînțeles"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "podtékst",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "подте́кст"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "infratono"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "subtono"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "implied meaning",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "underton"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "poluton",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "полутон"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "nuance"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "njuáns",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "нюа́нс"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "otténok",
"sense": "colour",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "отте́нок"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "polutón",
"sense": "colour",
"word": "полуто́н"
}
],
"word": "undertone"
}
{
"antonyms": [
{
"sense": "antonym(s) of “present as less important”",
"word": "accent"
},
{
"sense": "antonym(s) of “present as less important”",
"word": "accentuate"
}
],
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms prefixed with under-",
"English uncountable nouns",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Bulgarian translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Maori translations",
"Terms with Romanian translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "under",
"3": "tone"
},
"expansion": "under- + tone",
"name": "prefix"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From under- + tone.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "undertones",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "undertoning",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "undertoned",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "undertoned",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "undertone (third-person singular simple present undertones, present participle undertoning, simple past and past participle undertoned)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1941, Emily Carr, chapter 1, in Klee Wyck:",
"text": "The Missionary's address rolled on in choppy Chinook, undertoned by a gentle voice from the back of the room which told Tanook in pure Indian words what he was to do.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1951 January, Arthur Leo Zagat, chapter 7, in Fantastic Novels Magazine:",
"text": "Undertoning the howling siren I was aware of a distant swish, like that of a hurricane’s forerunning wind through palm fronds.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To accompany as an undertone."
],
"links": [
[
"accompany",
"accompany"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1861, George Meredith, Evan Harrington, Chapter 30, Part 1:",
"text": "Evan paid no attention to him, and answered none of his hasty undertoned questions.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1887, R. M. Ballantyne, chapter 13, in The Big Otter:",
"text": "At first, when the net was being prepared, those children of the forest had merely stood by and looked on with curiosity. When Blondin and his men rowed out from the shore, letting the net drop off the stern of our boat as they went, they indulged in a few guesses and undertoned remarks.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1984, Greg Bear, chapter 11, in Corona, Simon and Schuster, published 2000:",
"text": "“He handles that pallet like it was a mule,” McCoy undertoned, passing Mason. Mason grinned and fell in behind.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1999, Thomas Sullivan, chapter 35, in The Martyring, Crossroad Press, published 2015:",
"text": "“How come there’s never any birds in cemeteries?” Skelote undertoned. “Squirrels, rabbits, but no birds.”",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To say or speak in an undertone."
],
"links": [
[
"say",
"say"
],
[
"speak",
"speak"
]
]
},
{
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1866, {unattributed}, Littell's Living Age - Volume 88 - Page 427",
"text": "Men rarely make this mistake, their habitual blunder being to undertone everything, to make too light of Julia's new frock, and Johnnie's symptoms of measles, and the way they waste things down stairs."
},
{
"text": "2010, Maddy Myers, “Arisia 2010: the Sexiest of Sci-Fi Cons,” thephoenix.com, 26 January, 2010,\nIt’s hard enough to separate the geeks from the creeps at your average Anime con (it’s more of a Venn Diagram than an either/or, really). The task becomes even more difficult at Arisia, where the sexual undertones are … not particularly undertoned."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To present as less important, noticeable or prominent."
],
"links": [
[
"present",
"present"
],
[
"important",
"important"
],
[
"noticeable",
"noticeable"
],
[
"prominent",
"prominent"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈʌndə(ɹ)təʊn/"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-undertone.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-undertone.wav.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "present as less important",
"word": "de-emphasize"
},
{
"sense": "present as less important",
"word": "downplay"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "say or utter in an undertone",
"word": "whakakōingoingo"
}
],
"word": "undertone"
}
Download raw JSONL data for undertone meaning in All languages combined (10.6kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.