scene-stealer

2 6.1

A person or thing that gets more attention than others in a scene

noun
/siːnˈstiːlər/

Literature

: robaescenas

Everyone agreed that the child actor was a talented scene-stealer in the movie, captivating viewers with his charm.

Examples

The team even brought back the scene-stealer (and arguably the show's most consistently funny character).

Blog text (29)
Beautiful, funny, charming, whimsical, The Office, Kimmy Schmidt, bridesmaids, scene stealer, brilliant woman that you are.
However, the scene-stealer by far is Javier Bardem as the film's main villain, Raoul Silva.

Blog text (31)
In the latest play, the newcomer was a real scene-stealer, drawing laughter from the audience with her quick wit.
During the film, the supporting actor became a surprising scene-stealer, overshadowing the main lead with his performance.

Synonyms

showstopper

vsscene-stealer

8 5.7

Something very impressive that makes people stop and look

is attention that comes from outshining others, often without meaning to

upstager

vsscene-stealer

1 8.4

An actor who tries to be the center of attention on stage, ignoring other actors

is more likely to draw attention unintentionally rather than by choice

How Noticeable

scene-stealer

Literature

2 6.1

lead

664 4.6

supporting player

2 3.4

extra

58 3.5

Surface Forms

scene-stealer singular

scene-stealers plural

Morphology

scene-stealer = scene + stealer (transparent) = scene + steal + er

Formed from 'scene' + 'stealer' (itself 'steal' + '-er'); the meaning 'one who steals the scene' is directly inferable from the parts.

Etymology

Scene-stealer comes from the words scene meaning 'part of a play or the place where something happens' and steal meaning 'to take'. It is like someone who 'steals' the audience's attention in a scene, so a scene-stealer is a performer who draws more attention than others.