Link Centre Dictionary

subterranean

sub·ter·ra·nean

UK/ˌsʌbtəˈɹeɪniən/ US/sʌbtɜrˈeɪniʌn/ uncommon

adjective

1.

being or operating under the surface of the earth

  • “subterranean passages”
  • “a subsurface flow of water”
Synonyms
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2.

lying beyond what is openly revealed or avowed (especially being kept in the background or deliberately concealed)

  • “subterranean motives for murder”
  • “looked too closely for an ulterior purpose in all knowledge” Bertrand Russell
Synonyms
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Origin

From Latin subterrāneus + -an. Compare subterrane and subterraneous.

Phrases

  • subterranean clover

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.