underlying
2 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of UNDERLYING
1
— used to identify the idea, cause, problem, etc., that forms the basis of something
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The argument relies on the underlying assumption that all criminals are dangerous.
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an underlying cause of the accident
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They're dealing with the symptoms but they haven't done anything about the underlying problem/disease.
2
:
lying under or below something
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the ocean and the underlying rock
