How to Use subtext in a Sentence

subtext

noun
  • There’s the heart and the subtext.
    — Adam Verner september 3, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
  • All of which is to say, this is not a show that prizes subtext.
    — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Which is not to say there’s not some pathos and dark subtext here and there.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 20 Apr. 2021
  • The man does not know subtext; only text.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
  • This is part of the subtext of the idea of being self-taught.
    — New York Times, 7 July 2022
  • But there’s also a subtext of loss.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 6 Feb. 2026
  • The subtext was whether I could be trusted.
    — Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The movie was a metaphor for men’s fear of big women and that subtext wasn’t lost on me.
    — Jane Smiley june 20, Literary Hub, 20 June 2025
  • Not like Cats ever wasn’t that, but now the subtext is text.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025
  • That was the clear subtext of what the two were talking about with each other.
    — Fox News, 16 Mar. 2018
  • The subtext is that these guys haven’t done badly for themselves.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 13 June 2024
  • Some writers focus on moral subtext in their works.
    — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2026
  • From there, there was the subtext from teammates about an elephant in the room.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2025
  • And then there was the issue of class, the thrumming subtext of her work and her life.
    — Nancy Hass, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2023
  • This is all subtext, but that’s the stuff the two of us grew up watching and loving.
    — Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
  • Trump’s habit of making the subtext the text has rubbed off on some of the people around him.
    — Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2020
  • Not all value is measured in subtext.
    — Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2025
  • But there’s a subtext to the spectacle.
    — Frank Rizzo, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026
  • No mention of the breakup was in the video, but the text — and subtext — was all in its caption.
    — Nardine Saadstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022
  • The subtext of that sentence is the need for optimism among the troops.
    — Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2022
  • The subtext of these displays wouldn’t have been lost on audiences of the time.
    — Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2025
  • The story is supposed to be about what happened, but the subtext is what might have been.
    — Jenna Russell, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Apr. 2018
  • Her joyful comedy has a dark side, which shows around the edges of jokes, in the subtext.
    — Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 15 July 2022
  • All this is live subtext for Walker’s creation.
    — Horace D. Ballard, Artforum, 22 Apr. 2026
  • And here’s where the subtext of Wilde’s recipe-posting gets truly … well, wild.
    — Emily Heil, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2022
  • There was a lot of subtext in Alex for Qualley to convey as well.
    — Thr Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Aug. 2022
  • Part of the subtext behind all of the jokes and memes is the idea that this is somehow personal.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 25 June 2026
  • There seems to be a united front in regard to not explaining the themes and subtext of the show.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
  • The subtext of Martha is that Stewart has been punished enough.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The problem for viewers is that the jokes don’t crackle and the silences lack subtext.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 21 Apr. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subtext.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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