upstage
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L203310 on Wikidata ↗noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L329970 on Wikidata ↗verb
- distract attention from
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L342271 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ʌpˈsteɪd͡ʒ/
adj
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.
- At the rear of a stage.
“The minimalist play used no upstage scenery.”
- Haughty, aloof.
“If she hasn't time for this or that, if she refuses to make or keep appointments, if her face does not greet all comers with a sweet and charming smile, then the word is passed around that ‘So-and-So is getting high-hat and up-stage.’”
adv
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.
- Toward or at the rear of a theatrical stage.
“The actor turned and walked upstage.”
- Away from the audience or camera.
noun
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.
- The part of a stage that is farthest from the audience or camera.
verb
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.
- To draw attention away from others, especially on-stage.
“She only wore that dress to upstage everyone.”
“Although constantly upstaged by Miss Moore's vocal flings, Cary Grant brought the appropriate note of light comedy to his role.”
- To force other actors to face away from the audience by staying upstage.
- To treat snobbishly.
- To restage upward; to restage (a case of a disease, usually a cancer) to a higher stage than that found at last assessment.
“Almost one-third of patients were upstaged after re-exploration, three-quarters of whom actually had stage III disease.”