undertones

Noun

undertone (countable and uncountable, plural undertones)

1. An auditory tone of low pitch or volume.
   • 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.1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
2. (figuratively) 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.
   • 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”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Antonyms:

   overtone

3. A pale colour, or one seen underneath another colour.
4. A 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

See all 7 meanings of undertone