underly
/ˈʌndə(ɹ)li/adjective, adverb
underly is spelled U-N-D-E-R-L-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 59 million words in written English, the 240,237th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, underly means “Poor; inferior” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in underly?
| Letters | 7: U-N-D-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 59 million words; the 240,237th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is underly?
Underly appears about once in every 59 million words in written English, the 240,237th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce underly?
- /ˈʌndə(ɹ)li/
Underly has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of underly
- more underly comparative
- most underly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does underly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Poor; inferior.
adverb
- 1
obsoleterareAt a lower level.
- 2
colloquialIn an inferior or inadequate manner; insufficiently (chiefly in opposition to overly).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does underly come from?
From under + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).