Standard Lemma guide

underdevelopment

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH2 N D ER0 D AH0 V EH1 L AH0 P M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition of being underdeveloped.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

(photography) inadequate processing of film resulting in inadequate contrast

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: development, developing

3

noun

Meaning 3

state of inadequate development

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • much poverty can be traced to the underdevelopment of industry

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: development

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1én Proto-Indo-European *h1entér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dhí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dhér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- English development English underdevelopment From under- + development.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Asturian: subdesarrollu — Translations
  • Basque: azpigarapen — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 欠发达地区 — Translations
  • Estonian: alaareng — Translations
  • Finnish: alikehitys — Translations
  • French: sous-développement — Translations
  • Georgian: განუვითარებლობა (ganuvitarebloba) — Translations
  • Georgian: ქვეგანვითარება (kveganvitareba) — Translations
  • German: Unterentwicklung — Translations
  • German: Rückständigkeit — Translations
  • Italian: sottosviluppo — Translations
  • Japanese: 開発中で — Translations
  • Occitan: sosdesvolopament — Translations
  • Portuguese: subdesenvolvimento — Translations
  • Spanish: subdesarrollo — Translations
  • Turkish: az gelişmişlik — Translations