as in abyss
a social sphere that exists outside of the mainstream
a magazine article taking an insightful look at the underworld inhabited by street people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of underworld
Based on a webtoon called Mercy For None: Plaza Wars, the Netflix noir follows the vengeance campaign of Nam Gi-jun (Doctor Lawyer’s So Ji-sub), a former key member of Seoul’s criminal underworld.
—
Kayti Burt, Time, 6 June 2025
Caught Stealing stars Butler as Hank Thompson, a down-on-his-luck former baseball player who is suddenly immersed in the New York City crime underworld in the late 1990s.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
There’s nothing wrong with a performer of Cruise's stature and charisma grappling with darkness and ambiguity in this way — in the past that resulted in one of his best, most misunderstood performances, as a doctor slipping down into a moral underworld in Eyes Wide Shut.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 14 May 2025
Her determined search leads her into a decades-old mystery rooted in the Detroit underworld.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underworld
Kayti Burt, Time, 6 June 2025
Caught Stealing stars Butler as Hank Thompson, a down-on-his-luck former baseball player who is suddenly immersed in the New York City crime underworld in the late 1990s.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
There’s nothing wrong with a performer of Cruise's stature and charisma grappling with darkness and ambiguity in this way — in the past that resulted in one of his best, most misunderstood performances, as a doctor slipping down into a moral underworld in Eyes Wide Shut.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 14 May 2025
Her determined search leads her into a decades-old mystery rooted in the Detroit underworld.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underworld
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underworld
Noun
-
This offensive abyss has also coincided with Aaron Judge’s first slump of the season.—
Chris Kirschner,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
-
The country’s longest-serving prime minister has pulled himself back from the abyss with what appears to be a wildly successful opening to a military campaign against Iran.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
The twin netherworlds—named after the mythical Greek god of the underworld and the pilot who shuttled souls across the river Styx—circle more than five billion kilometers distant from the sun, along an orbit that Stern’s Pluto expedition took nine years to reach.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2025
-
The other two-thirds are on a scale of anxiously hopeful to beyond desperate -- an amorphous netherworld of doubt that, yes, includes the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa, or should.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In particular, the ocean battle, with Kong chained to an aircraft carrier as Godzilla attacks from the depths, is a masterclass in tension, staging and environment-building rarely seen in modern blockbuster cinema.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
-
Dope Thief enlivens the formula with a pair of performances from Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura that plunge us into the depths of male loneliness, then pull us out of the dark with a tender, vulnerable friendship that is as gooey and soft as the show surrounding it is bleak and bloody.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The gumshoe’s exploits, punctuated with suspense, dark comedy and a motley cast unique to the demimonde of the Mexican capital, have been made into films and a Netflix series and translated into English and other languages.—
Patrick J. McDonnell,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2025
-
One thing was certain: Per its title, it was set in the demimonde of the galaxy far, far away, among its scoundrels, and smugglers, and bounty hunters and assorted other criminals.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underworld.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underworld. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share