undercurrents
Subtle underlying tensions
Undercurrents are currents flowing beneath a surface, usually water: The undercurrents made swimming dangerous.
More often the word is figurative—hidden feelings, influences, or tendencies running beneath what's openly expressed: undercurrents of tension in the meeting, political undercurrents.
The suggestion is always of something powerful but not immediately visible.
Subsurface seaward current
- riptideDangerous outward current
- eddyCircular counter-current
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- swirlRotating, curving movement
whirlpool · backwash · tide · surge · flow · pull · channel · stream
Subdued background quality
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- nuanceSlight shade of difference
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
hint · suggestion · connotation · allusion · subtext · inference · overtone · underpinning
undertow
Subsurface seaward current
swirl · whirlpool · backwash · tide · surge · flow · pull · channel · stream · tributary
undertone
Subdued background quality
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- nuanceSlight shade of difference
insinuation · hint · suggestion · connotation · allusion · subtext · inference · overtone · underpinning · subconscious
latent
Present but inactive
- unseenNot perceived visually
- undetectedNot discovered yet
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
veiled · lurking · beneath · submerged · covert · invisible · obscured · unspoken · subliminal · implicit
unease
Mild persistent worry
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
- discordLack of agreement
- hostilityAntagonistic disposition toward others
resentment · suspicion · distrust · simmering · brewing · discontent · animosity · turmoil · agitation · restlessness
- tensionsstrain, friction, hostility, discord, strife
- hidden thingssecrets, motives, agendas, subtext, backstory
- beneath the surfaceunderground, underwater, submerged, caves, aquifers
- office politicsoffice politics, backstabbing, power plays, favoritism, nepotism
- murmurswhispers, mutterings, hushed tones, susurrations, sotto voce
undercurrentssurface currents
Top-layer ocean movements
surface waves · surface waters · eddies · whitecaps · ripples
undercurrentssurface currents
Top-layer ocean movements
surface · superficialities · surface tension · top layer · veneer