How to use undertone in a sentence

24 example sentences · noun, verb

Undertone means an auditory tone of low pitch or volume. Example: “In an undertone perhaps.”

Examples of undertone by meaning

nounAn auditory tone of low pitch or volume.

In an undertone perhaps.1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
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.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169

nounAn implicit message perceived subtly alongside, but not detracting noticeably from, the explicit message conveyed in or...

This context colours the Heidebad incident in darker undertones.2026 June 27, Fatma Aydemir, “Do you really need to speak German to take a cooling dip? This row in Halle raises all manner of red flags”...

nounA low state of the physical faculties.

Sedentary occupations are likely to result in undertone, and this undertone not being relieved by physiological means, constipation is a probable outcome.1905, Medical Review, volumes 51-52, page 171

verbTo accompany as an undertone.

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.1941, Emily Carr, chapter 1, in Klee Wyck
Undertoning the howling siren I was aware of a distant swish, like that of a hurricane’s forerunning wind through palm fronds.1951 January, Arthur Leo Zagat, chapter 7, in Fantastic Novels Magazine

verbTo say or speak in an undertone.

“He handles that pallet like it was a mule,” McCoy undertoned, passing Mason.1984, Greg Bear, chapter 11, in Corona, Simon and Schuster, published 2000
“How come there’s never any birds in cemeteries?” Skelote undertoned.1999, Thomas Sullivan, chapter 35, in The Martyring, Crossroad Press, published 2015

More sentences with undertone

A yellow undertone is often found on people with sallow skin – e.g.17 January 2012, Aisling, "Am I pink or yellow? How to choose the right foundation tone. And what is the deal with Mac foundations?"…. From the entry sallow
It is doubtful that the cough lolly is contributing much to the chardonnay’s buttery undertones.2007, Liane Moriarty, The Last Anniversary, page 208. From the entry cough lolly
That was a faint undertone to my 'idyllic' childhood, I suppose.”2001 May 12, Robert Potts, quoting Paul Muldoon, “The poet at play”, in The Guardian, →ISSN. From the entry valorize
This scene that aims at curbing male pride is disturbing for its androphobic undertone.2001, Françoise Ghillebaert, Spirituality and growth in the cross-dressed heroines of George Sand. From the entry androphobic
Orange baker’s delite - Very juicy, peely type with fruity undertones.1998, Agriculture & Industry Survey, volume 8, Vadamalai Media, page 47, column 1. From the entry peely
Any attempts at centralization on regional or crop basis may be misconnoted with political undertones.1997, Adedotun O. Phillips, Tunji Titilola, Sunday O. Titilola, Nigeria in two thousand and ten, page 71. From the entry misconnote
Tagetes has a characteristic herbaceous, somewhat rancid odor with fruital, bitter undertones.1997, George A. Burdock, Encyclopedia of Food and Color Additives, volumes III (P–Z, Indexes), CRC Press, →ISBN, page 2716. From the entry fruital
The incipient bipolarist undertone of this document also owed much to Hansen's view of the economic factors.1992, Carlo Maria Santoro, Diffidence and ambition: the intellectual sources of U.S. foreign policy. From the entry bipolarist
It is possible to identify the undertone, intensity, and clarity of each of these.1985, Doris Pooser, Always in Style with Color Me Beautiful, Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, page 147. From the entry skintone
It has tan undertones and a cool bluish cast.2018 February 13, Katy Kelleher, “Eau de Nil, the Light-Green Color of Egypt-Obsessed Europe”, in The Paris Review. From the entry eau de nil
They were cheerful enough, liked a bit of chiacking, and the women enjoyed the bawdy undertones of their jokes.1987, Sheila Anderson, “End of the Season”, in Anna Gibbs, Alison Tilson, editors, Frictions, An Anthology of Fiction by Women, page 45. From the entry chiack
In that he samples a chemistry prof's drink, scotch with a vodka undertone, and proposes a new drink entirely: “Scotchka.”1958, Harold Wallace Ross, William Shawn, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Katharine Sergeant Angell White, Rea Irvin, Roger Angell, edited by…. From the entry Scotchka
Kind of scotchy, with a vodka undertone.1958, Norman Krasna, Who was that Lady I Saw You With?: A New Comedy, Random House, page 6. From the entry Scotchka
Fallon is known for being late night’s most lighthearted personality, but still, there was an unmistakable undertone of avoidance in his performance on Thursday.2025 September 19, Judy Berman, “Jimmy Fallon Is Playing It Safe. He Might Be Cooked Anyway”, in TIME, archived from the original on 22…. From the entry late night
Although it’s unexpected for a season filled with dark colors, the cool undertones are a masterful way to manipulate your way into a fall ’do while going lighter.2024 September 5, Beth Gillette, “24 Fall Hair Colors Every Celebrity Is Asking for Rn”, in Cosmopolitan. From the entry go against the grain
The final foretale is a story of magical transformation with comic undertones, explaining how the two great bulls, the Brown and the Whitehorned, came to be.2006, Maureen O'Rourke Murphy, James MacKillop, An Irish Literature Reader. From the entry foretale

Meaning of undertone

noun An auditory tone of low pitch or volume.
noun 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.
noun A pale colour, or one seen underneath another colour.

Full definition of undertone

Questions about undertone in a sentence

How do you use undertone in a sentence?: Undertone is used as a noun and verb. For example: “In an undertone perhaps.”
What is a short sentence with undertone?: “In an undertone perhaps.”
What does undertone mean?: Undertone means an auditory tone of low pitch or volume.

Adapted from Wiktionary: undertone (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use undertone in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/undertone. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.