BACKGROUND as NOUN

1. Meaning
   • scenery hung at back of stage
   Synonym(s)
   • backcloth (what does backcloth mean?)
   • backdrop (what does backdrop mean?)
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • scenery (what does scenery mean?)
   • scene (what does scene mean?)
2. Meaning
   • (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear
   Synonym(s)
   • desktop (what does desktop mean?)
   • screen background (what does screen background mean?)
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • screen (what does screen mean?)
   • CRT screen (what does CRT screen mean?)
3. Meaning
   • a person’’s social heritage: previous experience or training
   Usage Example(s)
   • he is a lawyer with a sports background
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • inheritance (what does inheritance mean?)
   • heritage (what does heritage mean?)
4. Meaning
   • information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem
   Synonym(s)
   • background knowledge (what does background knowledge mean?)
   Usage Example(s)
   • the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • information (what does information mean?)
5. Meaning
   • the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground
   Synonym(s)
   • ground (what does ground mean?)
   Usage Example(s)
   • he posed her against a background of rolling hills
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • view (what does view mean?)
   • aspect (what does aspect mean?)
   • prospect (what does prospect mean?)
   • scene (what does scene mean?)
   • vista (what does vista mean?)
   • panorama (what does panorama mean?)
6. Meaning
   • relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation
   Usage Example(s)
   • when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • accompaniment (what does accompaniment mean?)
   • concomitant (what does concomitant mean?)
   • co-occurrence (what does co-occurrence mean?)
   Derived(s)
   • background (what does background mean?)
   • play down (what does play down mean?)
   • downplay (what does downplay mean?)
7. Meaning
   • extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured
   Synonym(s)
   • background signal (what does background signal mean?)
   Usage Example(s)
   • they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • noise (what does noise mean?)
   • interference (what does interference mean?)
   • disturbance (what does disturbance mean?)
   Hyponym(s)
   • background noise (what does background noise mean?)
   • ground noise (what does ground noise mean?)
   • background radiation (what does background radiation mean?)
8. Meaning
   • the state of the environment in which a situation exists
   Synonym(s)
   • scope (what does scope mean?)
   • setting (what does setting mean?)
   Usage Example(s)
   • you can”t do that in a university setting
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • environment (what does environment mean?)
   Hyponym(s)
   • canvas (what does canvas mean?)
   • canvass (what does canvass mean?)
   • showcase (what does showcase mean?)
   • show window (what does show window mean?)

BACKGROUND as VERB

1. Meaning
   • understate the importance or quality of
   Synonym(s)
   • downplay (what does downplay mean?)
   • play down (what does play down mean?)
   Usage Example(s)
   • he played down his royal ancestry
   Hypernyms(s) background is a kind of… Example: animal is a hypernym of mammal, plant is a hypernym of flower
   • stress (what does stress mean?)
   • emphasize (what does emphasize mean?)
   • emphasise (what does emphasise mean?)
   • punctuate (what does punctuate mean?)
   • accent (what does accent mean?)
   • accentuate (what does accentuate mean?)
   Antonym(s)
   • foreground (what does foreground mean?)
   • highlight (what does highlight mean?)
   • spotlight (what does spotlight mean?)
   • play up (what does play up mean?)
   • foreground (what does foreground mean?)
   • highlight (what does highlight mean?)
   • spotlight (what does spotlight mean?)
   • play up (what does play up mean?)
   Hyponym(s)
   • wave off (what does wave off mean?)
   • soft-pedal (what does soft-pedal mean?)
   Derived(s)
   • background (what does background mean?)