Main
Main adjective - Coming before all others in importance.
Underlying and main are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Underlying" instead an adjective "Main".
Underlying
Underlying adjective - Of or relating to the simplest facts or theories of a subject.
Main and underlying are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Main" instead an adjective "Underlying".
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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Dysfunction Junction: The death of Menma has far-reaching psychological repercussions for the main cast, but some of the underlying problems were there even before she died and the Busters disbanded.
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Love Dodecahedron: At first a cause of underlying tension, then later becoming the main cause of the tension.
- Gossip Girl': The underlying reason why Chuck and Blair broke up in the third season (not to mention one of the main reasons why it took them all of season two to get together) is this trope.
Source: Love Is a Weakness
Cite this Source
Underlying and Main. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/main/underlying
Main & Underlying. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/main/underlying>.
Underlying or Main. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/main/underlying.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "main" and "underlying" have occurred on timeline