overshadow
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overshadows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overshadowed,
past participle, past
-
overshadowing
present participle
-
to be more important or significant by comparison.
For years he overshadowed his brother.
-
to cast a shadow over; cover with shadows, clouds, darkness, etc.; darken or obscure.
clouds overshadowing the moon.
-
to make sad or hang heavily over; cast a pall on.
a disappointment that overshadowed their last years.
-
Archaic. to shelter or protect.
verb
-
to render insignificant or less important in comparison
-
to cast a shadow or gloom over
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overshadowsimple
-
overshadowssimple
-
have overshadowedperfect
-
has overshadowedperfect
-
am overshadowingprogressive
-
are overshadowingprogressive
-
is overshadowingprogressive
-
have been overshadowingperfect progressive
-
has been overshadowingperfect progressive
Past
-
overshadowedsimple
-
had overshadowedperfect
-
was overshadowingprogressive
-
were overshadowingprogressive
-
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:
Anthropic’s investors are reportedly expecting the artificial-intelligence lab to go public next quarter — and overshadow SpaceX’s initial public offering.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
His comments—his tone, his excitement or lack of it—often overshadow the automaker’s posted results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
However the reports published by a media consortium, led by Forbidden Stories, about the Pegasus spyware threatened to overshadow his visit.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
“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
No amount of spire-fighting trophies could overshadow that.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
“It’s a big week, but Nvidia overshadows everything.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Read: Rocket Lab’s stock slides as yet another rocket delay overshadows ‘record year’
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
But the other part that’s wired to be with the children you birthed — sometimes that part overshadows it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
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
The Newton of rhetoric—the one person whose work in this department overshadows the whole history of the subject—was, of course, Aristotle.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
He positioned himself as Fan No. 1 for a team still overshadowed by Showtime in Lakerland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
But the debut was overshadowed when manosphere influencer Andrew Tate, who the IBA had brought in to host, was arrested by U.S.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
She also pointed to comments aimed at female DJs on social media, where discussions about their music can be overshadowed by comments about their appearance.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Diesel, in turn, is overshadowed by gasoline in the public conversation, but “is really the workhorse fuel,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Just in time he threw himself down in a patch of long grass behind a tree that overshadowed the road.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Corning issued lighter-than-expected third-quarter sales guidance, overshadowing a better-than-expected second quarter that was driven by artificial-intelligence demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Leveraged ETFs and their siblings, inverse funds, are risky, and their frenzied proliferation that kicked into overdrive 2025 may be overshadowing their big jump in closures this year.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
To be sure, the surge in the size and number of monster deals could be overshadowing other money-raising efforts from smaller companies and investment by smaller funds, industry experts said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Bullingham also made clear that the FA was keen to avoid the scenario of uncertainty over its manager's future overshadowing the World Cup.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Recognizing faces sounds like a very specific process, but Schooler has shown that the implications of verbal overshadowing carry over to the way we solve much broader problems.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
