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- DictionaryUn·der·ly·ing/ˌəndərˈlīiNG/
verb
- 1. present participle of underlie
adjective
- 1. significant as a cause or basis of something but not necessarily manifest or obvious: "the flu can be particularly severe for the elderly and those with underlying conditions"
- 2. lying or situated under something: "the underlying muscles of the face"
The meaning of UNDERLYING is lying beneath or below. How to use underlying in a sentence.
UNDERLYING definition: 1. real but not immediately obvious: 2. used to describe something on which something else is…. Learn more.
adjective. lying or situated beneath, as a substratum. fundamental; basic: the underlying cause of their discontent. implicit; discoverable only by close scrutiny or analysis: an underlying seriousness in his witticisms. (of a claim, mortgage, etc.) taking precedence; anterior; prior.
The obvious meaning of underlying refers to something beneath something else. But the word carries a more subtle meaning, that of something hidden but important, something that shapes the meaning or effect of something else, without being explicit itself.
1. lying beneath something else, as a substratum. 2. fundamental; basic: the underlying cause. 3. discoverable only by close scrutiny or analysis; implicit. 4. (of a claim, mortgage, etc.) taking precedence; prior.
underlying. The underlying features of an object, event, or situation are not obvious, and it may be difficult to discover or reveal them. To stop a problem you have to understand its underlying causes. ...underlying health conditions. I think that the underlying problem is education, unemployment and bad housing.
An underlying reason or problem is the real reason or problem, although it is not obvious: We need to look at the underlying reasons for ill health. (Definition of underlying from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
