Subtext

noun, verb

noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The implicit meaning of a text, often a literary one, or a speech or dialogue. countable, uncountable

    "Everyone heard the announcement, but not everyone agrees on what the subtext was."

Verb
  1. 1
    To create or use a subtext.

    "All the participants used subtexting as an important viewing strategy of mainstream films. We are always looking for innuendoes and cues either with certain individual characters or between female characters."

Synonyms

All synonyms
undercurrent

Example

More examples

"I don't understand the subtext."

Etymology

From sub- + text.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.