underdeveloped
adjective
un·der·de·vel·oped
| \ ˌən-dər-di-ˈve-ləpt
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Definition of underdeveloped
1
: not normally or adequately developed
underdeveloped muscles underdeveloped film
2
: having a relatively low economic level of industrial production and standard of living (as from lack of capital)
underdeveloped nations
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Other Words from underdeveloped
underdevelopment
\ ˌən-dər-di-ˈve-ləp-mənt
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noun
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noun
Examples of underdeveloped in a Sentence
The baby was born with underdeveloped lungs.
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s an aimless subplot involving a neighbor in Arthur’s apartment building, played by Zazie Beetz, in an underdeveloped role. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "Joker Wants to Be a Movie About the Emptiness of Our Culture. Instead, It’s a Prime Example of It," 31 Aug. 2019 But to go through all of Walsh’s past incendiary remarks about race, urban crime and underdeveloped countries (about which Walsh used the same barnyard language that had been attributed to Trump), would take all day. — Clarence Page, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Why I appreciate presidential candidate Joe Walsh — for now," 27 Aug. 2019 Their motivations aren’t always clear, and John’s wife, Amy (Shari Rigby), is particularly underdeveloped; a number of her lines are simply her repeating what her husband has just said. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: ‘Overcomer’ reaches the finish line — eventually," 22 Aug. 2019 Golf programs at historically black colleges and universities are generally underdeveloped, and some schools have even had to scrap their teams in the face of financial hardship. — Aj Willingham, CNN, "Steph Curry is helping launch Howard University's first Division I golf program," 19 Aug. 2019 Their baby’s kidneys were more dilated than usual and underdeveloped, a relatively common condition. — Colleen Cronin, PEOPLE.com, "Pregnant Shawn Johnson East on Why She Celebrated After Getting Her Genetic-Test Results Back," 5 Aug. 2019 The move is Jumia’s latest bid to get around the last-mile delivery problem with logistics currently hobbled by inconsistent address systems, underdeveloped road networks and relatively limited mapping in several of Jumia’s African markets. — Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Africa, "Africa’s largest e-commerce company is partnering with a network of fuel stations to boost delivery," 29 July 2019 The action sequences and the underworld characters are underdeveloped. — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, "Review: Nicolas Cage has ‘A Score to Settle’; plus ‘The Operative’ and more," 1 Aug. 2019 Human-rights groups, Democratic lawmakers and immigration experts have said Guatemala is too poor and underdeveloped to handle a flood of asylum applicants. — Washington Post, "Guatemala's migrant pact with the U.S. threatens to unleash a political crisis," 27 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underdeveloped.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for underdeveloped
underdeveloped
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of underdeveloped
: not developed to a normal size or strength
of a country, society, etc.
: having many poor people and few industries
See the full definition for underdeveloped in the English Language Learners Dictionary
underdeveloped
adjective
un·der·de·vel·oped
| \ ˌən-dər-di-ˈvel-əpt
\
\
Medical Definition of underdeveloped
: not normally or adequately developed
underdeveloped muscles underdeveloped lungs
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