Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Undercurrent

Undercurrent , noun

1.
A current below the surface of water, sometimes flowing in a contrary direction to that on the surface. — Totten
2.
Hence, figuratively, a tendency of feeling, opinion, or the like, in a direction contrary to what is publicly shown; an unseen influence or tendency; as, a strong undercurrent of sentiment in favor of a prisoner.
All the while there was a busy undercurrent in her. — G. Eliot

Undercurrent , adjective

Running beneath the surface; hidden. [Rare]
Undercurrent woe. — Tennyson