Meaning & use
undercurrent
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A flow of water or air moving beneath the surface layer, often in a different direction from the movement you can see.
Grammar: Has a regular plural: strong undercurrents; often followed by of when it names a feeling.
Patterns
- an undercurrent beneath something
Swimmers were warned that a powerful undercurrent ran beneath the calm bay.
The pilot felt a cold undercurrent of air pulling the small plane downward.
Although the river looked peaceful, an undercurrent dragged the canoe sideways.
nouncountablefigurative
A feeling or idea that exists below the surface of a situation and shows only in small ways, not in what people openly say.
Grammar: Usually followed by of plus a feeling: an undercurrent of anger, not an undercurrent for anger.
Patterns
- an undercurrent of something
- an undercurrent in something
There was an undercurrent of tension in the meeting even though everyone stayed polite.
Beneath the cheerful toasts ran an undercurrent of sadness about the move.
Critics noticed a political undercurrent in the otherwise light comedy.
Word forms
| plural | undercurrents |
|---|
Common combinations
- a strong undercurrent
- A strong undercurrent made the beach unsafe for children.
- a dangerous undercurrent
- The lifeguard warned about a dangerous undercurrent near the rocks.
- an undercurrent of tension
- An undercurrent of tension hung over the negotiations.
- an undercurrent of resentment
- Her kind words could not hide an undercurrent of resentment.
- sense an undercurrent
- I could sense an undercurrent in the room, though nobody explained it.
- a political undercurrent
- The novel carries a political undercurrent that readers often miss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- undertow
- Undertow is the backward pull of water beneath waves on a shore, so it is narrower than undercurrent and rarely used for feelings.
- undertone
- Undertone more often describes a quiet hint of feeling in a voice, color or remark, while undercurrent suggests a deeper force moving a whole situation.
- subtext
- Subtext refers to the unstated meaning behind words in a text or conversation, whereas undercurrent can describe a general mood with no spoken words at all.
- overtone
- Overtone usually means an extra suggestion added to the main meaning, often negative, and is less about a hidden force than undercurrent is.
Word family
Commonly confused: undercurrent or undertow?
undercurrent vs undertow
An undertow is the pull of water going back out under waves on a beach. An undercurrent is any flow below the surface, and it is the word used for hidden feelings.
Practice
Swimmers were warned that a strong ___ beneath the calm surface could pull them out to sea.
Choose one answer.
An undercurrent is a flow of water below the surface. An outlet is an opening for water to leave, an overhang is a hanging structure, and an upswing is an improvement, so none of them describes a pulling flow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “undercurrent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.