outshine

[out-shahyn]

See more synonyms for outshine on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), out·shone or out·shined, out·shin·ing.

to surpass in shining; shine more brightly than.
to surpass in splendor, ability, achievement, excellence, etc.: a product that outshone all competitors; to outshine one's classmates.

verb (used without object), out·shone or out·shined, out·shin·ing.

to shine out or forth: a small light outshining in the darkness.

Origin of outshine

First recorded in 1590–1600; out- + shine¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for outshine

outperform, transcend, outplay, beat, exceed, excel, surpass, defeat

Examples from the Web for outshine

Contemporary Examples of outshine

Some followers have even hinted that “good divorces” outshine mediocre marriages.
Nasty Divorces’ Silver Lining?
Beverly Willett
May 19, 2012

Historical Examples of outshine

In all the firmament of poetry there was no star to outshine his.
William Shakespeare
Samuel Levy Bensusan
You cannot imagine what a woman will do in order to get a new dress, in which to outshine her rival.
Caught In The Net
Emile Gaboriau
I have no ambition to outshine him, nor William Shakespere nor any other erudite.
Black Beaver
James Campbell Lewis
A wife should outshine her husband in nothing, not even in her dress.
Sketches of the Fair Sex, in All Parts of the World
Anonymous
You could outshine all the gilded youth I know, and hold your own with the best.
A Pessimist
Robert Timsol

British Dictionary definitions for outshine

outshine

verb -shines, -shining or -shone

(tr) to shine more brightly than
(tr) to surpass in excellence, beauty, wit, etc
(intr) rare to emit light

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for outshine

1590s, from out (adv.) + shine (v.). Perhaps coined by Spenser. Figurative sense of "to surpass in splendor or excellence" is from 1610s. Related: Outshone; outshining.