1
as in underworld
a social sphere that exists outside of the mainstream
unable to get work in mainstream films, the actor ended up in Hollywood's underbelly—the porn industry
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2
as in underside
the side or part facing downward from something
the underbelly of the old submarine is in bad shape
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in back
a vulnerable point
the vast, thinly guarded southern border was obviously the underbelly of the nation's line of defense
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of underbelly
The hypothesis is that these planets eventually lose the ability to sequester planet-warming greenhouse gases in their geologic underbelly.
—
Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Tyler Perry's gone full sicko mode with Beauty in Black, a soapy thriller about an exotic dancer who infiltrates the lives of the Bellarie beauty dynasty and disrupts its connections to a seedy criminal underbelly.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2025
Westman had decorated the assault rifle and shotgun with hate speech in ways that aligned with the dark underbelly of alt-right meme culture that regularly disparages people of color, Jewish people, the LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The film’s first trailer hinted at something frisky and fun and glossy, with a thrilling underbelly, a sexy and wild outing that will put Ibsen in an entirely new light.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underbelly
Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Tyler Perry's gone full sicko mode with Beauty in Black, a soapy thriller about an exotic dancer who infiltrates the lives of the Bellarie beauty dynasty and disrupts its connections to a seedy criminal underbelly.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2025
Westman had decorated the assault rifle and shotgun with hate speech in ways that aligned with the dark underbelly of alt-right meme culture that regularly disparages people of color, Jewish people, the LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The film’s first trailer hinted at something frisky and fun and glossy, with a thrilling underbelly, a sexy and wild outing that will put Ibsen in an entirely new light.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underbelly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underbelly
Noun
-
The crime drama follows a small-time Chinatown luxury counterfeit dealer who enters a dangerous black-market underworld in order to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Bruno himself is preëxistingly missing, having vanished some years earlier, when things started getting uncomfortably hot in the cheese underworld.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Since the underside is steel, its filter is stuck in place using magnetic strips.—
Thomas Soderstrom,
PC Magazine,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Small cottony clusters may appear on branches, in cracks in the bark, on roots, or on the undersides of leaves.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The lieutenant suffered one gunshot wound that entered near his shoulder and exited his back.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Oct. 2025
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Now, the new cards have a digital security signature that’s embedded into one of two barcodes that appear on the back, the state agency said in a news release.—
Hannah Poukish,
Sacbee.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The clip, shared by Sarah Ingle (@saraheingle), a dedicated dog fosterer, shows seven-month-old Cookie Crisps nestled in her arms while Ingle gently pats her bottom.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Crash pillows from MotoGP lined the bottom to absorb impacts, while Dias wore a spine protector and Prada’s Linea Rossa gear.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sanae Takaichi, the pro-stimulus conservative poised to become Japan’s first female prime minister, is an energetic nationalist with a soft spot for the hard-nosed politics of Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher and the heavy metal music of Iron Maiden.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
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Their methods—ruthless melodic math, brazenly artificial production, and an odd soft spot for reggae rhythms—helped define the world-conquering sound of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Two months before Twilight kicked off the glittery vampire craze, Alan Ball’s True Blood had already put an original, sexy spin on the jugular-draining genre.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Oct. 2025
-
There will be plenty of temptation to go right for the jugular Monday night against a beleaguered Bengals defense.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underbelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underbelly. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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