subtext

Definition

The implicit meaning of a text, often a literary one, or a speech or dialogue.

Etymology

From sub- + text.

Example Sentences

• "Everyone heard the announcement, but not everyone agrees on what the subtext was."
• "The word dick has meant penis since the 1890s, but Chester Gould’s private detective “Dick Tracy” has no puerile subtext related to this word."
• "While his major plays appear on the surface to have little plot, their subtext is full of overheated romance and melodrama."

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