undertone

n. 低音, 浅色, 小声

发音

其它 /ˈʌndə(ɹ)təʊn/

词形变化

undertones 复数 undertones undertoned undertones 三单 undertoning undertoning 现在分词 undertoned 过去式 undertoned 过去分词

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    An auditory tone of low pitch or volume.

    可数 不可数
  2. 2.

    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.

    可数 不可数
  3. 3.

    A pale colour, or one seen underneath another colour.

    可数 不可数
  4. 4.

    A low state of the physical faculties.

    可数 不可数
v.
  1. 1.

    To accompany as an undertone.

  2. 2.

    To say or speak in an undertone.

  3. 3.

    To present as less important, noticeable or prominent.

    Men rarely make this mistake, their habitual blunder being to undertone everything, to make too light of Julia's new frock, and Johnnie's symptoms of measles, and the way they waste things down stairs.

    2010, Maddy Myers, “Arisia 2010: the Sexiest of Sci-Fi Cons,” thephoenix.com, 26 January, 2010, It’s hard enough to separate the geeks from the creeps at your average Anime con (it’s more of a Venn Diagram than an either/or, really). The task becomes even more difficult at Arisia, where the sexual undertones are … not particularly undertoned.

词汇关系

词源

From under- + tone.

来源:wiktionary