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Sometimes I even feel funny to say I'm in a biracial marriage because people are like, 'Oh, he's Asian?' The subtext is, 'Who cares? You didn't marry a black person.'
Diane Farr

Meaning of "subtext" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF SUBTEXT

subtext  [ˈsʌbˌtɛkst] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SUBTEXT

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Subtext is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES SUBTEXT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Subtext

Subtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts and motives of the characters which are only covered in an aside. Subtext can also be used to imply controversial subjects without specifically alienating people from the fiction, often through use of metaphor. Subtext is content underneath the spoken dialogue. Under dialogue, there can be conflict, anger, competition, pride, showing off, or other implicit ideas and emotions. Subtext is the unspoken thoughts and motives of characters—what they really think and believe. Especially in light of their inherently ambiguous and self-referential character, many authors have explicitly used subtexts in humor. Subtext is also a frequently used method of subtly inserting social or political commentary into fiction.

Definition of subtext in the English dictionary

The definition of subtext in the dictionary is an underlying theme in a piece of writing. Other definition of subtext is a message which is not stated directly but can be inferred.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH SUBTEXT


ciphertext
ˈsaɪfəˌtɛkst
context
ˈkɒntɛkst
Euronext
ˈjʊərəʊˌnɛkst
hypertext
ˈhaɪpəˌtɛkst
inflexed
ɪnˈflɛkst
intertext
ˈɪntəˌtɛkst
martext
ˈmɑːˌtɛkst
next
nɛkst
oversexed
ˌəʊvəˈsɛkst
perplexed
pəˈplɛkst
pretext
ˈpriːtɛkst
sexed
sɛkst
sext
sɛkst
teletext
ˈtɛlɪˌtɛkst
text
tɛkst
undersexed
ˌʌndəˈsɛkst
unsexed
ʌnˈsɛkst
Urtext
ˈuːrtɛkst
vexed
vɛkst
videotext
ˈvɪdɪəʊˌtɛkst

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE SUBTEXT

subteen
subtemperate
subtenancy
subtenant
subtend
subtense
subtenure
subterfuge
subterminal
subternatural
subterrain
subterrane
subterranean
subterraneanly
subterraneous
subterraneously
subterrene
subterrestrial
subtest
subtextual

WORDS THAT END LIKE SUBTEXT

betwixt
church text
ext
fixt
greeked text
high-context
low-context
opaque context
plain text
sex-text
spintext
transfixt
transparent context

Synonyms and antonyms of subtext in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «subtext» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF SUBTEXT

Find out the translation of subtext to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of subtext from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «subtext» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

潜台词
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

subtexto
570 millions of speakers

English

subtext
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

पहलू
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

ضمني
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

подтекст
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

subtexto
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

subtext
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

sous-texte
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Subteks
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Subtext
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

言外の意味
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

서브 텍스트
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Subteks
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

ẩn ý
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

அடங்கியிருப்பதை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

Subtext
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

subtext
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

sottotesto
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

podtekst
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

підтекст
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

subtext
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

subtext
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

subteks
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

undertext
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

undertekst
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of subtext

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SUBTEXT»

The term «subtext» is quite widely used and occupies the 53.199 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
75
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «subtext» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of subtext
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «subtext».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «SUBTEXT» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «subtext» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «subtext» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about subtext

EXAMPLES

9 QUOTES WITH «SUBTEXT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word subtext.
1
Andrew Bird
Melodies are just honest. They can only be what they are. Words have the capacity for deception. They're all full of subtext, and some of them are cliche and overused and vernacular. They're tricky. All I can say is, words are tricky.
2
Shane Carruth
I believe that filmmakers have to internalize the story and subtext so well that all of the departments can start to speak to each other - that music can speak to cinematography can speak to writing and back again.
3
Shane Carruth
I am obsessed with story. I had a late awakening in life. In college was the first time that I understood what you could do with a story and what a good novel is - literary value and subtext and irony and everything.
4
Diane Farr
Sometimes I even feel funny to say I'm in a biracial marriage because people are like, 'Oh, he's Asian?' The subtext is, 'Who cares? You didn't marry a black person.'
5
Ben Feldman
I would say what Mad Men has taught me has been a super elevated evaluation of text in general, and understanding subtext, and understanding where a character comes from - what he means by this or by that.
6
Michael Gambon
There's no subtext in 'Harry Potter,' really; it's all magic - anything can happen. Why do I say this? Because it's a magic spell. It's quite nice in a way. There is a real freedom to it. Doesn't say much for acting, does it?
7
Shashi Tharoor
Five decades ago, as India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, began visibly ailing, the nation and the world were consumed by the question: 'After Nehru, who?' The inexpressible fear lay in the subtext to the question: 'After Nehru, what?'
8
Antje Traue
As an actor, you are always looking for subtext, for layers, for what's going on underneath.
9
Lana Wachowski
With Bound, we wanted to pull at conventions, because you begin to wonder, Why do these stereotypes exist? Where do they come from? You use that as the subtext.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SUBTEXT»

Discover the use of subtext in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to subtext and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Writing Subtext: What Lies Beneath
Partly a how-to book, partly an exploration of this important topic, Writing Subtext explores all the underlying meanings that lie beneath the words, images, and actions in film, which are also applicable to any kind of fiction writing.
Linda Seger, 2011
2
Subtext: A Modern Day Tale of Female Submission
And if you haven't, well this book will give you an insight into the deep end of a dating pool you never knew existed.
Kate Marley, 2011
3
Subtext: Making Body Language Work in the Workplace
Discusses the impact of body language in the workplace, explaining how to translate it as others present it and how to use it to convey a message of success
Julius Fast, 1991
4
The Qur'an and Its Biblical Subtext
The. Qur›án. and. Its. Biblical. Subtext. This book challenges the dominant scholarly notion that the Qur'an must be interpreted through the medieval commentaries shaped by the biography of the prophet Musammad, proposing instead that the ...
Gabriel Said Reynolds, 2010
5
Tackling text [and subtext]: a step-by-step guide for actors
This is an intensely practical handbook for students, actors, and teachers on how to cope with text, character, and situation. Barbara Houseman's method is to state a precept and devise an exercise to explore it.
Barbara Houseman, 2008
6
The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot
The Art of Subtext is part of The Art of series, a new line of books by important authors on the craft of writing, edited by Charles Baxter.
Charles Baxter, 2013
7
The New York Mets: Ethnography, Myth, and Subtext
Alternately the “Lovable Losers” and the “Miracle Mets,” New York’s other team offers fascinating fodder for writer Richard Grossinger in this thoughtful collection.
Richard Grossinger, 2007
8
Shakespeare: Text, Subtext, and Context
Seventeen critics are represented in this collection of essays designed to illustrate the vitality and range of traditional and new approaches to Shakespeare studies.
Ronald L. Dotterer, 1989
9
Irony in Mark's Gospel: Text and Subtext
The second half of the book shows that the presence of irony is especially powerful when the deeper level of meaning is somehow hidden from the story's characters.
Jerry Camery-Hoggatt, 2005
10
Socio-legal Approaches to International Economic Law: Text, ...
This collection explores the analytical, empirical and normative components that distinguish socio-legal approaches to international economic law both from each other, and from other approaches.
Amanda Perry-Kessaris, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SUBTEXT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term subtext is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Subtext Recordings announces Yair Elazar Glotman album
Last year also saw Glotman put out his first album under his own name, Northern Gulfs, on Glacial Recordings, and he made his first appearance on Subtext with ... «Resident Advisor, Jun 15»
2
Downtown St. Paul's Subtext Books to host grand opening June 26
A new location of SubText bookstore on Fifth Street in between Wabasha and St. Peter in downtown St. Paul Wednesday, June 10, 2015. (Pioneer Press: Jean ... «TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press, Jun 15»
3
Paramore dazzles with memories -- and heavy subtext -- at the Dolby
Over the last decade and change, Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams has become a captivating anomaly in the pop landscape. Few, if any have so deftly ... «Los Angeles Times, May 15»
4
The Political Subtext of “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a Sham
Each Mad Max movie is a product of its time. The original “Mad Max” (1979) was clearly aligned to the conservative law-and-order revenge thrillers of the 1970s. «BLOUIN ARTINFO, May 15»
5
President of NOW slams Obama for sexist subtext: 'Little lady just …
Obama's “clear subtext is that the little lady just doesn't know what she's talking about,” O'Neill added, according to The Hill. Giving Obama a further taste of what ... «BizPac Review, May 15»
6
The Troubling Subtext Of Sofia Vergara's Ex-Fiance's 'Embryos …
But the subtext of Loeb's op-ed, and that the New York Times gave him a platform to publicly pressure Vergara and expose her reproductive choices, are deeply ... «Huffington Post, Apr 15»
7
Marvel to make subtext text by having one of the original X-Men …
For years, the big appeal of The X-Men has been the way it can be used as a metaphor for anything that makes someone different. Whether you're gay, ... «A.V. Club, Apr 15»
8
Anders Lubitz: Racial subtext to discourse on counter-terrorism
Kundnani noted that this “was not just an individual gaffe but the making explicit of the racial subtext to the entire discourse of counter-terrorism.” That same day ... «Middle East Eye, Mar 15»
9
Theater Review: 'Pygmalion' goes in search of subtext
“Pygmalion” was George Barnard Shaw's unromantic basis for the romantic 1956 Lerner and Loewe musical, “My Fair Lady.” It starred Julie Andrews as ... «Glendale News Press, Mar 15»
10
From the comic to the subtext: Prominent artist takes a new tack in …
After three decades using figures, animals and objects that reflect Morsberger's lifelong love for comic books, the 21 paintings collected for the “Text/Subtext” ... «The State, Mar 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Subtext [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/subtext>. Apr 2024 ».
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