Under vs Until - What's the difference?

under | until |

As prepositions the difference between under and until

is that under is under while until is up to the time of (something happening).

As a conjunction until is

up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

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

Anagrams

* English prepositions 1000 English basic words ----

until

English

Preposition

(English prepositions)

Up to the time of (something happening).

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)

, volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.}}

Before (a time).

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author= Chico Harlan

, volume=189, issue=2, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Japan pockets the subsidy … , passage=Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."}}

(obsolete) To; physically towards.

* Spenser

He roused himself full blithe, and hastened them until .

Usage notes

It is typically assumed that circumstances have changed or could change at the referenced time. For instance, “All has gone well until now” implies that the current situation may not be so good.

Synonyms

* 'til (nonstandard), till, up to

Antonyms

* since

Conjunction

(English Conjunctions)

Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

*:It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)

, volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}

Before (a condition becoming true).

*:It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.