Meaning

(transitive) To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down.
2. (transitive) To pull down by, or as by, an undertow.
3. (intransitive) To flow or behave as an undertow.
4. A short-range flow of water returning seaward from the waves breaking on the shore.
5. (by extension) A feeling that runs contrary to one's normal one.

Example Sentences

Off in a gallop the General wheeled vanishing, And sped his steed away into the blue, When Lineoln now alone let go his speech Which had before been undertowed by force, [...]

A sense that the air, a sighting of muddy river, or that outcrop of rock so implacably bland in the light of midday, is undertowed by memory.

I sink because I cannot swim, undertowed to the Centre, abandoning all remembrance of the surface toward the cloud of unknowing, without choice I'm pulled.

Everybody knows this and acts accordingly; but when you say it, it sounds bad and bold, and makes you uncomfortable to hear it, because the puritan blood is still undertowing in your veins.

A strong undertow may sweep a returning swimmer off their feet but it does not carry them far from the shore.

Word Forms

• undertows
• undertowing
• undertowed

Synonyms for undertow

Related Words

When Should You Use Undertow?

Use undertow when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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