Meanings
- uncountableSuppressed laughter or laughing
“Of course I am, thank you,” said Clover in a voice which also he would hardly have recognized, so gay was it with a ripple of underlaughter.
1922, Berta Ruck, The Subconscious Courtship, page 3401 more example
Herrick could not guide Corinna, and Pope could not guide Mrs. Blount, into a definite, satisfying image because their ladies were too multiform and subtle, too likely to recede into airy sourire, underlaughter, to permit any resolution, any pinning tot he wall; […]
1985, Daniel Albright, Lyricality in English literature, page 126Synonyms: snickering
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSuppressed laughter or laughing
Origin
- Middle Englishunderlaughen“to smile; smile with the eyes”
- Middle Englishunderlaughteren“to smirk”
- Englishunderlaughter
Probably derived from Middle English underlaughteren (“to smirk”), Middle English underlaughen (“to smile; smile with the eyes”), equivalent to under- + laughter.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
underlaughter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underlaughter
“underlaughter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underlaughter. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underlaughter,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underlaughter.
Source: underlaughter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.