Underrated

How to spell underrated

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce underrated

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does underrated mean?

1. adjectiveValued, rated, or appreciated less than is deserved.

Underrated in a sentence

• The quiet seaside town is a deeply underrated holiday destination.

• Many critics agreed that the author remained badly underrated during her lifetime.

Where does underrated come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word joins the native English prefix under-, meaning 'below' or 'too little', to the verb 'rate', which means to assign a value or rank to something. 'Rate' came into English in the 1400s from the medieval Latin phrase 'pro rata parte', meaning 'according to a fixed proportion', built on the Latin 'ratus', the past participle of 'reri', meaning 'to reckon' or 'to calculate'. The same 'ratus' root underlies the everyday words 'ratio' and 'ration', all of them tied to the idea of measured proportion. 'Underrate' as a compound verb appears from the 1600s, expressing the notion of valuing something less than it deserves, with 'underrated' following as its adjective. The spelling trap is the doubled r: the prefix ends in r and the root begins in r, so both must be written, even though only one is heard.

How the word is built

• under- (below, too little)
• rate (to value or appraise)
• -ed (past participle/adjective suffix)