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Glite Dictionary
to live in the shadow

to live in the shadow

2 8.0
To be less known or important because someone else is more famous
  • idiom
translation icon : vivir a la sombra
  • Feeling like you live in the shadow of your successful friend can be discouraging.

Examples

  • You know, always living in the shadow of a sibling like that.

    Death at a Funeral (2007)

  • Must be hard living in the shadow of a legend, huh?

    Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)

  • I was thinking if I stay here, I'll always be living in the shadow of someone else.

    North (1994)

  • India has always lived in the shadow of Pakistan and has been forever defined by Pakistan.

    Blog text (8)

  • At the time, Duchamp was living in the shadow of his two older brothers, both respected artists in Paris.

    Blog text (15)

  • And if Grandfather hadn't run for parliament, we'd still be living in the shadow of his factories.

    Miss Potter (2006)

  • Many talented athletes live in the shadow of their more famous teammates.

  • She always felt she had to live in the shadow of her brilliant sister.

Antonyms

to stand out
244 3.2

To be easy to notice because you are different or better

How Overshadowed

to fade away
69 3.0
to live in the shadow
2 8.0

Surface Forms

live in the shadow infinitive
lived in the shadow past
lived in the shadow past participle
living in the shadow present participle
lives in the shadow third person singular

Morphology

live + in + the + shadow

The meaning arises from a metaphorical extension of 'shadow' (lack of light/visibility) so a learner who knows 'live', 'in' and 'shadow' can plausibly infer that someone is less visible or prominent because of another person. This figurative mapping is common cross-linguistically and often guessable, but it is still a metaphorical shift rather than strictly compositional, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Live in the shadow comes from the simple image of standing where another person blocks the light, so you are literally in their shadow and not seen. That's why it means 'to be less noticed or important because of someone else'.