How to Use underlie in a Sentence

underlie

verb
Definition of underlienext
Synonyms for underlienext
  • A tile floor underlies the rug.
  • A theme of revenge underlies much of her writing.
  • The river is underlain by limestone.
  • We discussed the principles that underlay their methods.
  • The state declined to release any of the underlying data to The Post.
    — Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 24 Sep. 2023
  • Since oil and stocks are both risky, this could underlie the tendency of the two to move in tandem.
    — Bob Henderson, WSJ, 6 Dec. 2022
  • Plans to lower debt to no more than three times its underlying cash earnings by the end of next year will likely not be reached.
    — Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2023
  • In the normal course of things, there’d be an underlying indictment, but the DOJ never filed one.
    — The Editors, National Review, 28 July 2023
  • The 5th Circuit's decision dismissed a part of the lawsuit that challenged the FDA's underlying approval of the drug at all.
    — John Fritze, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2023
  • While figuring out the underlying cause of puffy eyes can get a bit tedious, eye creams are one of the best ways to address this issue in a pinch.
    — Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 4 Nov. 2023
  • The underlying number - the core number is more around 4.1 percent.
    — CBS News, 30 July 2023
  • Treating symptoms works for a while, but inevitably the underlying cause gets worse.
    — Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2023
  • The thought may have underlain his decision to support the Willow complex.
    — Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2023
  • In that case, Gravy cleared the underlying music (which Astley does not own) but failed to secure a license to sample the master.
    — Bill Donahue, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2024
  • The decline in gas prices owes in large part to a steep drop in the cost of crude oil, the underlying commodity that refineries turn into gas.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2023
  • The underlying property is still held in title by the owner while living, and can be sold or given as a gift.
    — Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Dec. 2023
  • The landslide complex that underlies much of the coastal city has been slowly shifting for decades, but over the last few months, the movement has increased alarmingly.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024
  • This acts as a shield, so certain questions never even reach the underlying AI model.
    — Maxwell Zeff and Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Except that there’s a weird underlying Kumbaya quality to the whole thing.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Oct. 2023
  • The purpose of the underlying enterprise was to set up a data-storage market.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 1 Dec. 2023
  • This boys' bedroom idea goes all out with stripes of different sizes and colors, but the underlying scheme of blue, yellow, and white ties the whole space together.
    — Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2023
  • There are underlying tensions: Most vendors in Sunset Park do not have a permit — and a ticket can carry a fine of $1,000.
    — Susan Hartman Todd Heisler, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • End of carousel The local artist begins by assembling bits of paper, cutting and pasting maps and a set of bags whose green stripes underlie many of these pictures.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
  • But, as more tests came back, the uncertainty about the underlying cause seemed to have become only murkier.
    — Erika Fry, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
  • Whether your neck pain is caused by stress, an underlying health condition, or long hours at the desk, our experts have reviewed the top products on the market to bring you the best neck massagers of 2022.
    — Nicole Crawford, Health, 20 July 2023
  • An underlying roadblock isn't the anomalous event but the conventional events, the report says.
    — Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Full Circle might have been a masterpiece if the ideas underlying these relationships weren’t pushed to the margins by the unwieldy plot.
    — Time, 13 July 2023
  • The accusations have not changed the underlying facts in the Trump prosecution.
    — Richard Fausset, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Factors like hair dye, heat, and chemicals can all wreak havoc on the cuticle and underlying hair shaft, as well as the bonds that help keep hair resilient, says Dr. Finney.
    — Kaleigh Fasanella, Women's Health, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Now, Americans’ perception of the economy seems to be more aligned with the underlying hard data that points to a recovery.
    — Paolo Confino, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underlie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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