UNDERLYING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does underlying mean? 

• UNDERLYING (adjective)
  The adjective UNDERLYING has 3 senses:

1. in the nature of something though not readily apparent

2. located beneath or below

3. being or involving basic facts or principles

  Familiarity information: UNDERLYING used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNDERLYING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In the nature of something though not readily apparent

Synonyms:

implicit in; inherent; underlying

Context example:

an underlying meaning

Similar:

implicit; inexplicit (implied though not directly expressed; inherent in the nature of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Located beneath or below

Similar:

subjacent (lying nearby but lower)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Being or involving basic facts or principles

Synonyms:

fundamental; rudimentary; underlying

Context example:

underlying principles

Similar:

basic (pertaining to or constituting a base or basis)

 Context examples 

A procedure to remove dead tissue or foreign material from a wound to expose underlying healthy tissue and to promote healing.

(Debridement, NCI Thesaurus)

They are symptoms of an underlying disease or condition and not a specific illness.

(Nausea and Vomiting, NCI Thesaurus)

It is the underlying principle of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

(Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, NCI Thesaurus)

Others get better when an underlying disease is treated.

(Movement Disorders, NIH)

A procedure to remove dead tissue or foreign material from a skin wound to expose underlying healthy tissue and to promote healing.

(Debridement of Wound of Skin, NCI Thesaurus)

They designed their study to map and compare biological networks underlying Alzheimer’s disease.

(Viruses may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease, National Institutes of Health)

Until now, scientists did not know when the retreat of Pine Island Glacier started, or its underlying cause.

(West Antarctica's largest glacier may have started retreating as early as the 1940s, NSF)

The mechanisms underlying the therapy hint at new approaches to treat inflammatory disorders.

(Electroacupuncture Reduces Sepsis in Mice, NIH)

People with delirium often, though not always, make a full recovery after their underlying illness is treated.

(Delirium, NIH)

Underlying such impaired neuronal growth and function, the researchers discovered that the mutant SETD1A gene disrupted regulation of many other genes with which it is networked.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)