UNDERDEVELOPMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does underdevelopment mean? 

• UNDERDEVELOPMENT (noun)
  The noun UNDERDEVELOPMENT has 2 senses:

1. state of inadequate development

2. (photography) inadequate processing of film resulting in inadequate contrast

  Familiarity information: UNDERDEVELOPMENT used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNDERDEVELOPMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

State of inadequate development

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

much poverty can be traced to the underdevelopment of industry

Hypernyms ("underdevelopment" is a kind of...):

development (a state in which things are improving; the result of developing (as in the early part of a game of chess))

Sense 2

Meaning:

(photography) inadequate processing of film resulting in inadequate contrast

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("underdevelopment" is a kind of...):

developing; development (processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible)

Domain category:

photography; picture taking (the act of taking and printing photographs)

Derivation:

underdevelop (process (a film or photographic plate) less than the required time or in an ineffective solution or at an insufficiently high temperature)

 Context examples 

A rare congenital cardiovascular disorder characterized by severe underdevelopment of the left side of the heart.

(Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare congenital cardiovascular disorder characterized by severe underdevelopment of the right side of the heart.

(Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by underdevelopment of the breast.

(Breast Hypoplasia, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

A congenital abnormality characterized by the underdevelopment of the optic nerve.

(Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

Hypoplasia refers to inadequate development or underdevelopment of an organ.

(Hypoplasia of the Mouse Prostate Gland, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

A congenital abnormality characterized by the underdevelopment of both optic nerves.

(Bilateral Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

It results in brain malformation characterized by the underdevelopment or absence of gyri or ridges in the cerebral cortex.

(Classical Lissencephaly, NCI Thesaurus)

Underdevelopment of the breast.

(Breast Hypoplasia, NCI Thesaurus)