Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb underlie

2 senses of underlie

Sense 1
underlie -- (be or form the base for)
       => be -- (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer")

Sense 2
underlie -- (lie underneath)
       => lie -- (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)