UNDERWORLD

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does underworld mean? 

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

1. the criminal class

2. (religion) the world of the dead

  Familiarity information: UNDERWORLD used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNDERWORLD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The criminal class

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

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

class; social class; socio-economic class; stratum (people having the same social, economic, or educational status)

Meronyms (members of "underworld"):

gangdom; gangland; organized crime (underworld organizations)

racketeer (someone who commits crimes for profit (especially one who obtains money by fraud or extortion))

Sense 2

Meaning:

(religion) the world of the dead

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

Hades; Hell; infernal region; netherworld; Scheol; underworld

Context example:

No one goes to Hades with all his immense wealth

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

fictitious place; imaginary place; mythical place (a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings)

Meronyms (parts of "underworld"):

Acheron; River Acheron ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades across which the souls of the dead were carried by Charon)

Cocytus; River Cocytus ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades that was said to be a tributary of the Acheron)

Lethe; River Lethe ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades; the souls of the dead had to drink from it, which made them forget all they had done and suffered when they were alive)

River Styx; Styx ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls)

Domain category:

faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny)

 Context examples 

But enhancements to deep ocean drilling techniques and decreasing costs of DNA sequencing have for the first time made it possible to unravel the secrets of the underworld.

(Researchers Create New Model of Ecosystem Hidden Beneath Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)