Meanings
plural underdevelopments
- countableuncountableThe condition of being underdeveloped.
Drawing on insights from thinkers such as Karl Marx, Aimé Césaire and Mahatma Gandhi, they pointed out that underdevelopment in the global South was not a natural condition, but a consequence of the way Western powers had organised the world system over hundreds of years.
2017, Jason Hickel, “Why are Poor Countries Poor?”, in The Divide […] , London: William Heinemann, →ISBN
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
- Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
- Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
- Proto-Germanic*under
- Proto-West Germanic*undar
- Old Englishunder-
- Middle Englishunder-
- Englishunder-
- Englishdevelopment
- Englishunderdevelopment
From under- + development.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque azpigarapen
- azpigarapenTranslations
Chinese Mandarin 欠发达地区
- 欠发达地区Translations
Estonian alaareng
- alaarengTranslations
Finnish alikehitys
- alikehitysTranslations
French sous-développement
- sous-développementTranslations
German Unterentwicklung, Rückständigkeit
- UnterentwicklungTranslations
- RückständigkeitTranslations
Italian sottosviluppo
- sottosviluppoTranslations
Japanese 開発中で
- 開発中でTranslations
Portuguese subdesenvolvimento
- subdesenvolvimentoTranslations
Spanish subdesarrollo
- subdesarrolloTranslations
Turkish az gelişmişlik
- az gelişmişlikTranslations
Cite this entry
underdevelopment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdevelopment
“underdevelopment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdevelopment. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underdevelopment,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdevelopment.
Source: underdevelopment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.