to be the real reason for a decision or action
Arrange a chat about what lies behind her hatred and try to be sympathetic.
But more profound reasons lie behind the need for lying in the initial stages of courtship.
Chat about what lies behind the problem.
Does the potential threat to the availability of such information lie behind the protests about the proposed privatisation of this body?
Help her explore what may lie behind the weight problem.
Help him explore what may lie behind his weight problem and his attitude to life generally.
I know from thousands of your letters and emails that a badly handled split often lies behind problems that many young people suffer.
It can lie behind heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems.
Many worry about what lies behind this curve and one of the most persistent fears concerns man-made chemicals.
Our problem is what lies behind the anger.
There can be all sorts of reasons lying behind favouritism.
Two big new problems lie behind the plight of middle-income families in work.
We’d like to know what lay behind her decision to change her will.
lies behind
lying behind
lay behind
lain behind
There is no origin for this phrasal verb
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