undergo
verb
Simple meaning
To experience; to pass through a phase.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhndergohSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əndɚˈɡoʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To experience; to pass through a phase.
“The chemical undergoes a sudden change.”
transitive
To suffer or endure; bear with.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To experience; to pass through a phase.
Used this way, undergo is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The chemical undergoes a sudden change.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use undergo
- “The chemical undergoes a sudden change.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
To experience, go through, undergo.
To pass (or attempt to pass) through or around.
To subject; to put through a process.
To reach an intended destination after passing through some process.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.