to shed light on
26
3.9
- phrasal verb
:
arrojar luz sobre
- Students' responses to open-ended questions help shed light on this complex phenomenon.
- shed light on this question
- shed light on this issue
- findings shed light on
It does help shed light on where they need to focus on.
- It does help shed light on where they need to focus on.
- There's more detail in there that sheds light on how this went down.
- But this is shedding light on how this can be a tool for good.
- Maybe they'll find something that sheds light on issues like dark matter and dark energy.
- And I feel like a lot of us go through stuff to make situations better, to shed light on certain things.
- And it allows you to just yeah, but you have to shed light on the stuff that's important and you have to do it in an entertaining way.
- But somebody has to put in the time and work to notice it and to draw the connections and then to shed light on it.
- And that's why, you know, every time we have a new mission, it sheds light on what we didn't understand and how simple our model was.
- And I shed light on concepts like this and many others in my new book.
- And perhaps our next speaker can also shed light on that of Fatma Muja Kochek.
- So much is now getting shed light on because the media is changing in that macro trend.
Examples
-
Might the scientific community, for example, be able to shed light on encounters that the US government had been unable to explain?
-
If so, are there negative comments there that would shed light on the situation?
Academic text (1990) -
So I thought it was planned, but then to hear it presented that way, really shed light on on what was going on.
-
Simply having more information and communication does not shed light on the world.
Academic text (2017) -
And I feel like a lot of us go through stuff to make situations better, to shed light on certain things.
-
And I shed light on concepts like this and many others in my new book.
-
And in so doing, you shed light on an invaluable truth.
-
Examining the latter part of this question will begin to shed light on the former.
Academic text (1999) -
Hopefully, the great variety of experiments now underway will shed light on this issue.
Academic text (1995) -
The expert will shed light on the complex issues surrounding climate change.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To make something clear by describing it in simple words
363
2.8
To make something easy to understand
248
3.3
To make something clear so others can understand it
172
2.3
To explain something so people understand it
79
4.2
To give more details or explain something more fully
51
4.8
To make something clear or easier to understand
30
3.7
Make a fact or situation easier to understand
30
3.6
Shows what a person, place, or thing is like
26
3.9
To show information people do not know
21
5.8
To become clear and definite, as an idea or plan
20
7.3
Explain something in detail so people understand it
12
3.9
Help people understand a topic more clearly
12
4.1
To make a problem or issue clear and known to many people
11
6.8
To explain something so it is easy to understand
7
5.1
To make something easier to understand by removing mystery or confusion
3
7.4
To explain something clearly in detail
1
8.1
To light something or make it easier to understand
1
4.9
To help people understand a topic by explaining it clearly
Antonyms
How Clear
- Formal
11
6.8
248
3.3
26
3.9
∞
1.8
834
2.7
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination 'shed' + 'light' evokes the physical act of casting light and thus maps naturally onto making something clearer; the constituent meanings allow a learner to infer 'make clearer' especially because many languages use a similar light-as-knowledge metaphor. However, the phrase is metaphorical rather than strictly literal, so a degree of figurative inference is required and the exact usage may not be fully predictable without some exposure.
Etymology
Shed light on comes from the image of shining a light on something dark so you can see it, and shed here means to let light fall on an object. That's why when we say something 'sheds light on' a problem, we mean it 'makes it easier to understand'.