If something has undertones of a particular kind, it suggests ideas or attitudes of this kind without expressing them directly. a witty, racy story with surprisingly serious undertones
The influence of the underlying pigment or other colors within a hue A mouse gray has a warm undertone (yellow) and a steel gray has a cool undertone (blue)
If you say something in an undertone, you say it very quietly. `What d'you think?' she asked in an undertone Well-dressed clients were talking in polite undertones as they ate
The color of an ink or film due to light reflecting through it from the substrate (e g , The substrate may make the ink color appear lighter or darker, or offshade )
In cosmetics, undertone refers to cool or warm tones of the skin Your undertone is determined by the color of your eyes, your natural hair color, and which colors make you look pretty Most foundations are based around the undertone of the skin