Meaning & use
overshadowed
Last updated
“overshadowed” is a form of “overshadow”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Made someone or something seem less important or impressive because something else gets far more attention or is far better.
Grammar: Takes an object and is often passive: the news overshadowed the festival; the festival was overshadowed by the news.
Patterns
- something overshadows something
- someone is overshadowed by someone
The young pianist was overshadowed by her famous older sister for years.
A scandal at the top overshadowed the company's record profits.
Their small town festival is always overshadowed by the big city parade.
verbtransitive
Cast a shadow over a place, so that it is darker or cooler, usually because something tall stands next to it.
Grammar: Takes an object and is usually used of tall things: tall trees overshadowed the garden.
Patterns
- something overshadows something
Tall pine trees overshadowed the small cottage and kept it cold all winter.
The new tower overshadowed the old church and its churchyard.
Thick branches overshadowed the path, so it stayed damp even in summer.
Word forms
| base form | overshadow |
|---|---|
| third person singular | overshadows |
| past tense / past participle | overshadowed |
| -ing form | overshadowing |
Common combinations
- overshadowed by
- His early work was overshadowed by his later masterpiece.
- completely overshadowed
- The team's win was completely overshadowed by an injury to its captain.
- often overshadowed
- Her research is often overshadowed by more famous studies.
- feel overshadowed
- The younger twin sometimes felt overshadowed at family gatherings.
- be overshadowed by events
- The wedding was overshadowed by events in the news that week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- eclipse
- Eclipse is stronger and suggests the other thing is made to seem almost nothing, while overshadow allows the first thing to stay visible.
- outshine
- Outshine focuses on someone being clearly better in a direct comparison, often in a performance, whereas overshadow can also be about attention or events.
- dwarf
- Dwarf stresses a big difference in size or scale, so it fits numbers and buildings better than people's feelings.
- upstage
- Upstage is informal and means to draw attention away from someone on purpose, while overshadow can happen without any intention.
Word family
- shadow noun
- the dark shape made when something blocks light
- overshadow verb
- the base verb
- overshadowing noun
- the act of casting a shadow or reducing importance
- shadowy adjective
- full of shadows, or mysterious
Commonly confused: overshadowed or foreshadow?
overshadowed vs foreshadow
Foreshadow means to give an early sign of something that will happen later, such as in a story. It does not mean to make something less important.
Practice
The town's modest art show was ____ by the huge music festival held the same weekend.
Choose one answer.
Overshadowed means made to seem less important. Foreshadowed would mean hinted at in advance, and shadowed would mean followed closely, so neither fits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overshadowed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.