overshadow
Americanverb (used with object)
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to be more important or significant by comparison.
For years he overshadowed his brother.
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to cast a shadow over; cover with shadows, clouds, darkness, etc.; darken or obscure.
clouds overshadowing the moon.
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to make sad or hang heavily over; cast a pall on.
a disappointment that overshadowed their last years.
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Archaic. to shelter or protect.
verb
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to render insignificant or less important in comparison
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to cast a shadow or gloom over
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overshadowsimple
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overshadowssimple
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have overshadowedperfect
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has overshadowedperfect
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am overshadowingprogressive
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are overshadowingprogressive
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is overshadowingprogressive
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have been overshadowingperfect progressive
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has been overshadowingperfect progressive
Past
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overshadowedsimple
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had overshadowedperfect
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was overshadowingprogressive
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were overshadowingprogressive
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had been overshadowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overshadow
before 900; Middle English overshadewen, Old English ofersceadwian. See over-, shadow
Explanation
To overshadow is to appear more important or larger than something else. Your sister's tendency to interrupt and speak loudly sometimes overshadows what a caring person she is. You can use this verb in a very literal way, to mean "cast a shadow over something smaller," like the enormous oak tree in your yard that overshadows your small house. It's also possible to figuratively overshadow, like when your worry about next week's math test overshadows the happiness you feel waking up to a snow day. One person can overshadow another too, when they appear more interesting, successful, or attractive.
Vocabulary lists containing overshadow
You Call This Democracy?
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 2
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Death on the River of Doubt
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I think you saw definitely it was a difficult game against Belgium, and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not. ... I know we had full concentration going into the game.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The one figure that had already started to overshadow everything before Germany were eliminated is Klopp.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
The relentless positivity might serve as a corrective for a country where, for some, anger and disenchantment has come to overshadow everything, including an everyday decency that never actually disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
But the chaotic geopolitical scene is likely to overshadow such considerations at this year's meeting.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
She needed to do something so impressive that it would overshadow any rumors about her birth—something so incredible that no one would dare speak ill of her family.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Read: Rocket Lab’s stock slides as yet another rocket delay overshadows ‘record year’
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
Ben Hania’s insistence on close-up melodramatics — faces in anguish, a handheld camera glued to them — sometimes overshadows a thirst for something more analytical.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
Yet the situation overshadows Tuesday's Carabao Cup quarter-final in the Welsh capital, where Chelsea face the League One leaders and are expected to win.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
That has been compounded in recent weeks by falling expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates for a third successive time next month as stubbornly high inflation overshadows weakness in the labour market.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
“The American public got a slight taste of the fear which overshadows the people of Europe constantly.”
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
But the company’s growing AI momentum was overshadowed by Presence.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Foreign ministers from fuel-stressed Southeast Asia called for freedom of navigation in international straits on Thursday as they wrapped a week of meetings largely overshadowed by the US-Iran war.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Meghan made no public appearances during the week and Prince Harry's good causes were overshadowed, with nightmare timing, by defeat in court against Associated Newspapers.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Flaring tensions in the Middle East were overshadowed by a burst of enthusiasm for the market’s favorite memory stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
But the beauty was quickly overshadowed by the fearsome sound of rapids just ahead.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Growing expectations of Fed interest-rate hikes are overshadowing signs of progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Cashman says some of the children prescribed hormone treatments had also been diagnosed with conditions such as autism and ADHD, and the focus on gender medication risked overshadowing their wider health needs.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Shares of Samsara declined late Thursday after the software company announced that it expects fiscal second-quarter financials will broadly be in line with Wall Street’s expectations, overshadowing better-than-expected fiscal 2027 first-quarter financials.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Nowhere had I to stand, no way of climbing, the root and bole being far below, and far above my head the branches and their leaves, massed, overshadowing Kharybdis pool.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
