undertone
under|tone /'ʌndərtoʊn/ (undertones)
1 [N-COUNT] in N
If you say something in an undertone, you say it very quietly.
`What d'you think?' she asked in an undertone...
Well-dressed clients were talking in polite undertones as they ate.
2 [N-COUNT] with supp
If something has undertones of a particular kind, it suggests ideas or attitudes of this kind without expressing them directly.
...a witty, racy story with surprisingly serious undertones.
1 [N-COUNT] in N
If you say something in an undertone, you say it very quietly.
`What d'you think?' she asked in an undertone...
Well-dressed clients were talking in polite undertones as they ate.
2 [N-COUNT] with supp
If something has undertones of a particular kind, it suggests ideas or attitudes of this kind without expressing them directly.
...a witty, racy story with surprisingly serious undertones.