undertow

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They took a toll, onerously so, like an undertow at the ocean shoreline that yanks you down into the muddy sand underfoot, and my debt more than quadrupled.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

Earlier this week, Gerwig said she is open to the idea, if she can find an "undertow" for the film.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2024

On Zoom, Jamel Brinkley is much like his short stories: quiet and unassuming, funny, warm and generous with a sharp undertow of spiky intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2023

The Trio’s tragic undertow is thought to encode reflections on the troubled life of Brahms’s mentor and friend Robert Schumann.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 27, 2023

Unlike the frivolous goings-on in Paris or New York, though, the cabaret style of Weimar Berlin had a deadly serious undertow.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall