Basic Details
Word: Underlying
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Real but not easy to see; lying beneath the surface. An underlying cause is the deeper reason for something.
Synonyms: basic, root, hidden
Antonyms: surface, obvious
How to Spell Underlying
Syllables: un - der - ly - ing
Tricky part: It comes from lie, and lie becomes lying before -ing (ie turns into y). Students write underlieing or underlyeing.
Watch out for: underlieing, underlyeing, undurlying
Memory tip: Die becomes dying, tie becomes tying, lie becomes lying. Put under in front and you have underlying.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The doctor looked for the underlying cause of the child's frequent headaches.
Example 2: Beneath the jokes, there was an underlying sadness in his speech.
Example 3: The underlying rock in the Deccan is mostly old volcanic basalt.
Fun Fact
Underlying is really the -ing form of the verb underlie, but the verb on its own is rare: people speak of an underlying problem far more often than of a problem that underlies something.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
underl__ng
a) i, e
b) y, i
c) y, e
d) i, i
Show answer
b) y, i. Lie turns ie into y before -ing, the same change that makes dying from die.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to underlying as used in the sentence:
Poor sleep was the underlying reason for his low marks this term.
a) surface
b) root
c) visible
d) minor
Show answer
b) root. An underlying reason is the root one beneath the obvious; surface and visible mean the opposite.
Word Makeup
Only one of these compound words is spelt correctly. Choose it:
underlying / undergrownd / underpas / understatment
a) underpas
b) undergrownd
c) underlying
d) understatment
Show answer
c) underlying. Underground ends in -ound, underpass in a double s, and understatement keeps the e of state.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The underlying message of a story is ____.
a) the deeper idea behind the plot
b) the title on the cover
c) the name of the author
d) the number of chapters
Show answer
a) the deeper idea behind the plot
2. Underlying rock lies ____ the soil.
a) outside
b) above
c) beside
d) beneath
Show answer
d) beneath
