MEANING
To work out a meaning or intention that is suggested rather than directly stated.
Use it for
interpreting an implied message; noticing what a speaker avoids saying; inferring attitude from indirect wording; distinguishing literal wording from its implicationsNames inference from implications rather than statements made directly. Writing functions: Implicit meaning.
Words that belong together
- read between the lines of a letter
- learn to read between the lines
On the page
Read between the lines of the announcement and the budget dispute becomes clear.
She could read between the lines, but she still asked him to confirm what he meant.
Word forms
- Base
- read between the lines
Usage notes
Verbal idiom: read/reads/read/read/reading between the lines. Past and past participle read are pronounced like red. Register: neutral. Commonness: common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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