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Below vs Under - What's the difference?

below | under | Synonyms |

Under is a synonym of below.



As prepositions the difference between below and under

is that below is lower in spatial position than while under is in or at a lower level than.

As adverbs the difference between below and under

is that below is in a lower place while under is in a way lower or less than.

As an adjective under is

being lower; being beneath something.

below

English

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • Lower in spatial position than.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.}}
  • Lower in value, price, rank or concentration than.
  • * Addison
  • one degree below kings
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Philip J. Bushnell, magazine=(American Scientist)
  • , title= Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance , passage=Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.}}
  • Downstream of.
  • South of.
  • Unsuitable to the rank or dignity of; beneath.
  • * (John Milton)
  • They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, how below all history the persons and their actions were.
  • * Hallam
  • who thinks no fact below his regard
  • (stage directions) Downstage of.
  • * 1952 , (Frederick Knott), , 1954 (Dramatists Play Service) acting edition, act 1, scene 1:
  • Below the sofa is a low, round coffee table.

    Synonyms

    * (lower in spatial position than) beneath, under, underneath * (lower in value than) under * (downstream of) downstream * (unsuitable to the rank or dignity of) beneath

    Antonyms

    * (lower in spatial position than) above, over * (lower in value than) over * (downstream of) upstream

    Derived terms

    * below the belt

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In a lower place.
  • *
  • *:But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶.
  • On a lower storey.
  • Further down.
  • (lb) On a lower deck.
  • :
  • (lb) Below zero.
  • Synonyms

    * (in a lower place) beneath, under, underneath * (on a lower storey) downstairs * (farther down) downwards

    Antonyms

    * (in a lower place) aloft, overhead, up * (on a lower storey) upstairs * (farther down) upwards

    Derived terms

    (below) * below average * below decks/belowdecks * belowground * below par * below the belt * below the fold

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

    Statistics

    *

    under

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • In or at a lower level than.
  • * 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 1
  • The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=14 citation , passage=Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall.  Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=28, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= High and wet , passage=Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale.
  • As a subject of; subordinate to.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 5, author=Phil McNulty, title=Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
  • , work=BBC Sport citation , passage=He was then denied by a magnificent tackle from captain Terry as Liverpool continued to press - but Chelsea survived as the memories of the nightmare under Villas-Boas faded even further into the background.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Angelique Chrisafis
  • , title=Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism, work=Guardian citation , passage=Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities.}}
  • Less than.
  • Below the surface of.
  • (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
  • * 2011 , Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15210221.stm]
  • England's World Cup dreams fell apart under a French onslaught on a night when their shortcomings were brutally exposed at the quarter-final stage.
  • As, in the character of.
  • * 2013 , The Huffington Post, JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith's 'The Cuckoo's Calling' Is Actually By Harry Potter Author [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/13/jk-rowling-pseudonym-robert-galbraith_n_3592769.html]
  • J.K. Rowling has written a crime novel called 'The Cuckoo's Calling' under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

    Synonyms

    * below * beneath * underneath

    Antonyms

    * above * over

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In a way lower or less than.
  • * (rfexample)
  • In a way inferior to.
  • * (rfexample)
  • In an unconscious state.
  • It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under .

    Synonyms

    * below * beneath

    Antonyms

    * above * over

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Being lower; being beneath something.
  • * Bible, 1 Corinthians ix. 27
  • I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.
  • * Moore
  • The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain / Could not bring his proud soul under .
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Derived terms

    * down under * six feet under * underachieve * underage * underarm * undercurrent * undercut * underground * underhanded * underneath * underrate * underreport * under the weather * undertow * underwater * underworld : See also:

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

    Statistics

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