as in underground
being, situated, or operating beneath the surface of the earth a subterranean bunker that supposedly could withstand even an atomic blast

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of subterranean These will need to be fenced off while large international construction firms take on the challenges of rubble, explosives, bodies and collapsed subterranean tunnels before tall buildings can rise. Shelly Culbertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025 Business leaders and boosters—if not the public library’s archivist—thought rumors and legends and sub-cellars, basements, coal chutes, and other subterranean utility spaces made for a marketable product. JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2025 Young people now spend much of their life in a subterranean world of schools, recreation centers, shelters, even malls. Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2025 This is the Ostwall, a fortified subterranean complex built by the Nazis and abandoned in 1945. Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for subterranean
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subterranean
underground
Adjective
  • At the very end of the movie, Bigelow captures a variety of government officials funneling into Raven Rock Mountain Complex, otherwise known as Site R, a military installation with an underground nuclear bunker near Blue Ridge, Pa.
    Jake Kring-Schreifels, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
  • While tectonic activity is the leading cause, earthquakes can also result from volcanic eruptions, underground explosions, and human activities like mining or large-scale construction.
    Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Subterranean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subterranean. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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