undertone

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a quiet or subdued tone of voice or sound

   She warned him in an undertone so the others would not hear.

2. 2
   noun

   a subtle underlying attitude, feeling, or message

   The speech carried an undertone of resentment.

3. 3
   noun

   a subdued color or a color visible beneath another

   The gray fabric had a faint blue undertone.

Formed from under- + tone. The literal sense is a low or subdued tone beneath the main level of sound. Figurative uses extend that idea to a feeling or message present beneath explicit words, and to a faint color visible beneath a dominant hue.

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