Meanings
present singular third person underexposes · participle present underexposing · participle past underexposed · past underexposed
- artsTo take a photograph using too small an exposure
- To provide with insufficient publicity
comparative more underexpose · superlative most underexpose
- artsThe condition when a photograph is darker than it should be because the film was not exposed to sufficient light either because the camera aperture was too small or the duration of light was too short.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
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-
- Englishexpose
- Englishunderexpose
Translations
Finnish alivalottaa
- alivalottaain photography
French sous-exposer, sous-exposer
- sous-exposerin photography
- sous-exposerto provide with insufficient publicity
German unterbelichten
- unterbelichtenin photography
Hungarian alulexponál
- alulexponálin photography
Māori huranga pore
- huranga poredarkened of photographs due to insufficient light
Portuguese subexpor, subexposto
- subexporin photography
- subexpostodarkened of photographs due to insufficient light
Cite this entry
underexpose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underexpose
“underexpose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underexpose. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underexpose,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underexpose.
Source: underexpose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.