Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Situated or operating beneath the earth's surface; underground.
- adj. Hidden; secret: subterranean motives for murder.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Situated or occurring below the surface of the earth or under ground.
Wiktionary
- adj. below ground, under the earth, underground
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Being or lying under the surface of the earth; situated within the earth, or under ground
WordNet 3.0
- adj. being or operating under the surface of the earth
- adj. lying beyond what is openly revealed or avowed (especially being kept in the background or deliberately concealed)
Etymologies
- Latin subterrāneus : sub-, sub- + terra, earth; see ters- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Just like in subterranean carbon sequestration, the CO2 would be pumped and moved via pipes to the bag.”
“Although the opinion is silent on the issue, it is safe to assume that the released men are college Professors holding doctorates in subterranean climatology.”
Discourse.net: Judge Grants Writ of Habeas Corpus for 5 out of 6 Gantanamo Detainees
“Or bound in subterranean dungeons [Maurer]. prison-houses -- either literal prisons, or their own houses, whence they dare not go forth for fear of the enemy.”
“Behold men as if dwelling in subterranean cavern" [Plato, Republic, 7.1].”
“The increasing number of reports on microbes in subterranean samples (Pedersen, 1993; Colwell et al.,”
“However that might be, there was, under the Scottish subsoil, what might be called a subterranean county, which, to be habitable, needed only the rays of the sun, or, for want of that, the light of”
“He never thinks it beneath his dignity to touch a point of minor morals, or to say a good word for what he somewhere calls subterranean prudence.”
“However that might be, there was, under the Scottish subsoil, what might be called a subterranean county, which, to be habitable, needed only the rays of the sun, or, for want of that, the light of a special planet.”
“A kanāt may be called a subterranean aqueduct, and is a succession of wells, beginning in the mountains, and conducted the required distance into the plains, sometimes for thirty or forty miles.”
“Power keeps quite another road than the turnpikes of choice and will; namely the subterranean and invisible tunnels and channels of life.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘subterranean’.
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sub- (suc-, suf-, etc.)
lower; somewhat; secondary; supporting
subalpine, subordinate, subconscious, subvention, sublet, subsistence, subsidize, sub, subacetate, subacid, subacidity, subacidness and 114 more...
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How low can you go?
A list of words that does the opposite of raising the bar
underscore, underwear, underachiever, underrated, underbite, undercapitalization, undercharged, underfloor, underground, underexposed, underfed, underboss and 105 more...
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let's go on an adventure
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