idiom · neutral
read between the lines
/riːd bɪˈtwiːn ðə laɪnz/beTWEEN·the·LINES
speakingtask2
to understand what is implied rather than stated directly
Examples
“She didn't say she's unhappy, but you can read between the lines.”
“If you read between the lines of his report, it's clear the company is struggling.”
“Journalists often read between the lines to spot political messages.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although the minister's statement seemed reassuring, reading between the lines suggests there are more serious problems.”
Collocations
- read between the lines of
- learn to read between the lines
Word family
read (v) verbreading between the lines verb phrase
Common mistakes
read into the lines→read between the lines
read between lines→read between the lines
Say it for a higher band
5guess→6interpret→7+read between the lines
Synonyms
infer
Easily confused
take at face value
“You shouldn't take his promise at face value.”
Related words
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In Study
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