Meanings
adjectiveunderdescribed (comparative more underdescribed, superlative most underdescribed)
comparative more underdescribed · superlative most underdescribed
- Not described with sufficient precision.
LaPorte shows that some of these cases—like Putnam’s Twin Earth—are seriously underdescribed; others—like the jade/jadeite/nephrite example–are historically inaccurate.
2008 October 22, R. W. Fischer, “Joseph LaPorte, Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change”, in Erkenntnis, volume 69, number 3, →DOI - formalnot comparableDescribed further on in the same document.
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
underdescribed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdescribed
MLA
“underdescribed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdescribed. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underdescribed,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdescribed.
Source: underdescribed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.