Meaning

2 senses

  1. At the rear of a stage.

    The minimalist play used no upstage scenery.

    of the back half of a stage

  2. (figuratively, obsolete)Haughty, aloof.

Examples

2 sentences

  1. I don't want to get upstaged.

    CM · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. No, I can no longer allow you to upstage me!

    Nylez · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Origin

From up- + stage. The figurative uses “haughty” and “to draw attention away” derive from a

From up- + stage. The figurative uses “haughty” and “to draw attention away” derive from actors moving to a higher and thus more visible position on a sloped stage.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more upstage, most upstage
Comparativemore upstage Lesson
Superlativemost upstage Lesson

regular

Synonyms

68 synonyms
arrogantB2disdainfulC2gloriousB1haughtyC2vainB1airychestyauthoritarianbiggitybig-headedblusteryturgescentboastfullordly
Close in meaning

Antonyms

1 antonyms
downstage

Lessons for this word

2 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
upsetA2upshotupsideupstairsB1upstart

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

upstage — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto