upstage
/ʌpˈsteɪd͡ʒ/ noun, adverb, adjective, verb
Forms upstages upstaging upstaged
- noun (theater) The part of a stage that is farthest from the audience or camera.
- adverb Toward or at the rear of a theatrical stage. “The actor turned and walked upstage.”
- adverb Away from the audience or camera.
- adjective At the rear of a stage. “The minimalist play used no upstage scenery.”
- adjective (figurative, obsolete) Haughty, aloof.
- verb (figurative, transitive) To draw attention away from others, especially on-stage. “She only wore that dress to upstage everyone.”
- verb (transitive, theater) To force other actors to face away from the audience by staying upstage.
- verb (transitive, by extension) To treat snobbishly.
- verb (medicine, transitive) To restage upward; to restage (a case of a disease, usually a cancer) to a higher stage than that found at last assessment.
Synonyms
airy arrogant chesty authoritarian biggity big-headed blustery turgescent boastful lordly bombastic buggish cocky conceited disdainful domineering egotistical entitled flatulent flaunting aloof distant
Antonyms
Etymology
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.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “upstage”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details