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undertow

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A short-range flow of water returning seaward from the waves breaking on the shore.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhndertoh

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈʌndɚtoʊ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The seaward undercurrent created after waves have broken on the shore

  2. A short-range flow of water returning seaward from the waves breaking on the shore.

  3. An inclination contrary to the strongest or prevailing feeling

    “His account had a poignant undertow of regret.”

  4. by extension

    A feeling that runs contrary to one's normal one.

verb

  1. transitive

    To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down.

  2. intransitive

    To flow or behave as an undertow.

  3. transitive

    To pull down by, or as by, an undertow.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The seaward undercurrent created after waves have broken on the shore

Used this way, undertow is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
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 undertow

  • “His account had a poignant undertow of regret.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Inclination / feeling

strong undertowpowerful undertow

Other combinations

dangerous undertowdark undertowemotional undertowconstant undertowundertow velocitypolitical undertow

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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.