subtext

noun

sub·​text ˈsəb-ˌtekst 

: the implicit or metaphorical meaning (as of a literary text)

subtextual

ˌsəb-ˈteks-chə-wəl 

-chəl

adjective

subtextually adverb

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A literary text often has more than one meaning: the literal meaning of the words on the page, and their hidden meaning, what exists "between the lines"—the subtext. Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, for example, is about the Salem witchcraft trials of the 17th century, but its subtext is the comparison of those trials with the "witch hunts" of the 1950s, when many people were unfairly accused of being communists. Even a social conversation between a man and a woman may have a subtext, but you may have to listen very closely to figure out what it is. Don't confuse subtext with subplot, a less important plot that moves along in parallel with the main plot.

Examples of subtext in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While other movies in the genre have tried, with varying degrees of success, to fit their superpowered action into some sort of theme, this one is almost amusingly indifferent to subtext. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 July 2026

Present subtext dripped from his words of the past, as the city of Denver hopes Payton has found a next great one, two decades later. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 30 July 2026

The subtext of Lynch’s story is that this is not a good top-level objective. — John Werner, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026

Nakassis posited that Greek veterans would have understood the subtext of Odysseus’s 10-year journey home from the war. — Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subtext

• complexed
• deflexed
• perplexed
• plaintext
• pretext
• reflexed
• ciphertext
• hypertext
• multiplexed
• teletext
• flexed
• next