overshadow
/,ouvə'ʃædou/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To cast a shadow over something: To cause an area to be in shadow by blocking light.
- To make something seem less important, successful, or impressive by comparison: To appear much more significant or superior than something else, thereby diminishing it.
- To cause a feeling of sadness, gloom, or threat: To make an event or situation seem less happy or positive by introducing a more serious or negative element.
Examples of Usage
- Literal meaning (to cast a shadow):
- The new skyscraper will overshadow the older buildings around it.
- The large oak tree overshadows our garden in the afternoon.
- Figurative meaning (to appear more significant):
- Her academic achievements overshadowed those of her classmates.
- The team's recent victory was overshadowed by the injury of their star player.
- Figurative meaning (to cast a gloom over):
- A sense of dread overshadowed the festivities.
- Their argument overshadowed the rest of the evening.
Advanced Usage
- Passive voice: Often used to describe how one thing is diminished by another.
- The positive economic news was completely overshadowed by the political scandal.
- In comparative contexts: Used to highlight a stark difference in importance, size, or impact.
- In terms of historical impact, the invention of the printing press overshadows most other discoveries of that era.
Variants and Related Words
- Overshadowing (noun/gerund): The act or process of making something seem less important.
- The constant overshadowing by his older brother affected his confidence.
- Unovershadowed (adj., rare): Not made less significant or darkened.
- She enjoyed a period of unovershadowed success.
Synonyms
- Eclipse: To make something seem less important or brilliant.
- Dwarf: To make something seem small or insignificant in comparison.
- Dominate: To have a commanding influence over; to be the most important feature.
- Outshine: To be much more skillful or successful than.
- Mar: To impair the appearance of; to spoil.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Overshadow" is not typically used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is contained within the single verb.)
Related Idioms
- To cast a long shadow: To have a significant and lasting influence, often a negative one. This idiom is conceptually related to "overshadow."
- The war cast a long shadow over the following decades.
- To live in someone's shadow: To be consistently less successful or noticed than another person. This idiom describes the state of being overshadowed.
- He grew tired of living in the shadow of his famous father.
Verb
- cast a shadow upon
- The tall tree overshadowed the house
- make appear small by comparison
- This year's debt dwarfs that of last year
- be greater in significance than
- the tragedy overshadowed the couple's happiness