This chapter presents a reconceptualization of gifted underachievement as a contextually bound phenomenon, defined as any missed opportunity to capitalize on one’s inner and outer resources in learning, development, and achievement. We propose a framework that identifies four primary pathways to underachievement: internal barriers, external barriers, lack of synergy, and mismatch. This conceptualization acknowledges underachievement’s dynamic and interactive nature, recognizing its complexity across various identities, abilities, and circumstances. The framework serves as a guide for diagnosis and intervention, emphasizing the importance of situated local expert judgment over context-free discrepancy scores. It allows for identifying selective and voluntary underachievement and “apparent” underachievers while considering the severity and long-term developmental implications of underachievement. This approach provides a nuanced understanding of gifted underachievement, moving beyond traditional definitions to encompass a broader range of factors influencing achievement potential.