to shine a light on
12
4.1
- phrasal verb
- Literature
:
arrojar luz sobre
- The study's report aims to shine a light on the issue of chronic absenteeism across Virginia.
Call it out, shine a light on it, and that's good.
- Call it out, shine a light on it, and that's good.
- It'd be nice to shine a light on this individual, wouldn't it?
- He sacrificed his life to shine a light on that corruption to get to the truth.
- That's what I'm trying to do in my work is shine a light on that.
- It is shining a light on the path forward when somebody feels stuck in darkness.
- It's to shine a light on things that they don't want to shine a light on.
- Here on the show, we love to shine a light on people who are working hard to help other people.
- But you not only lift people up and shine a light on them, but you give them opportunities that are very rare.
- This mental health is a topic that's not covered enough in our media, and it's important to take a moment to shine a light on it.
- And the fact that the left railed against that, I think shines a light on it really elucidates the systemic problems with the left at the moment.
- But the other thing was like, I, I wanted to sort of shine a light on this conversation as it is globally.
Examples
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Here on the show, we love to shine a light on people who are working hard to help other people.
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My friends, Jonathan Davis and Jordan Mazurek, have worked diligently to shine a light on a perceived injustice.
Blog text (30) -
Maybe those books will help shine a light on our answer.
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But you not only lift people up and shine a light on them, but you give them opportunities that are very rare.
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Would you mind shining a light on what it was that made you so exceptional?
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And he continues to shine a light on the hidden corners of our society.
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It's thanks to Omar and the rest of the Time Ghost Army members contributions that we can continue shining a light on these events.
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Furthermore, Escobar's most recent actions shine a light on a problem that seems more prevalent than ever before.
Blog text (14) -
We'll be shining a light on our favorite blogs and bloggers regularly.
Blog text (25) -
Well, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner is shining a light on chemical weapons stockpiles around the world.
Synonyms
30
3.7
Make a fact or situation easier to understand
26
3.9
To show information people do not know
26
3.9
To help people understand something by explaining it
20
3.7
To show facts that were hidden before
13
4.0
To make a person or thing noticed by people
1
4.9
To help people understand a topic by explaining it clearly
Point out the most important problem in a discussion
Antonyms
How Clear
342
4.1
∞
2.3
- Literature
12
4.1
340
3.3
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to clarify or reveal' is directly and transparently derived from the image of 'shine' (cast light) onto something and 'light' (which metaphorically stands for visibility/understanding); the preposition 'on' simply indicates target. This illumination metaphor is cross-linguistically common, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the intended sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
Shine a light on comes from the simple image of using a lamp or flashlight: when you shine a light on something dark you can see what was hidden. So, to shine a light on a problem or story means 'to reveal' or 'to draw attention to' it.