Word.ws English Dictionary

underaction

/ˌʌndəɹˈækʃən/

underaction noun: subplot; a minor event incidental or subsidiary to the main story.

Noun

underaction (countable and uncountable, plural underactions)

  1. (obsolete) subplot; a minor event incidental or subsidiary to the main story.
    • The least and most trivial episodes or underactions […] are parts necessary or convenient to carry on the main design.1697, Virgil, “Dedication to Virgil's Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page [151]
  2. Inefficient action.

Forms of underaction

pluralunderactions

Origin of underaction

From under- + action.

Questions about underaction

What does underaction mean?
Underaction means subplot; a minor event incidental or subsidiary to the main story.
What part of speech is underaction?
Underaction is a noun.
How do you pronounce underaction?
Underaction is pronounced /ˌʌndəɹˈækʃən/.
What is the plural of underaction?
The plural of underaction is underactions.

Words near underaction in the dictionary

  1. underacinated
  2. underacknowledged
  3. underact
  4. underacted
  5. underacting
  6. underaction
  7. underactions
  8. underactivate
  9. underactivated
  10. underactivates
  11. underactivating

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: underaction (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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