Library / English Dictionary

ECLIPSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

One celestial body obscures another

Synonyms:

eclipse; occultation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("eclipse" is a kind of...):

break; interruption (some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity)

Meronyms (parts of "eclipse"):

egress; emersion ((astronomy) the reappearance of a celestial body after an eclipse)

immersion; ingress ((astronomy) the disappearance of a celestial body prior to an eclipse)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "eclipse"):

solar eclipse (the moon interrupts light from the sun)

lunar eclipse (the earth interrupts light shining on the moon)

total eclipse (an eclipse as seen from a place where the eclipsed body is completely obscured)

partial eclipse (an eclipse in which the eclipsed body is only partially obscured)

Derivation:

eclipse (cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention

Example:

Planets and stars often are occulted by other celestial bodies

Synonyms:

eclipse; occult

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "eclipse" is one way to...):

overshadow (cast a shadow upon)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

eclipse (one celestial body obscures another)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be greater in significance than

Example:

the tragedy overshadowed the couple's happiness

Synonyms:

dominate; eclipse; overshadow

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "eclipse" is one way to...):

brood; bulk large; hover; loom (hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

The gas makes a kind of eclipse between Earth and the accretion disk, casting lines onto the disk’s spectrum of radiation.

(Astronomers Study How Quasars Are Powered by Accretion Disks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this four-year-old drama.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All told, the space telescopes observed 12 transits and 20 eclipses.

(Atmosphere of Midsize Planet Revealed by Hubble, Spitzer, NASA)

Elizabeth was the least dear to her of all her children; and though the man and the match were quite good enough for her, the worth of each was eclipsed by Mr. Bingley and Netherfield.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“Should you care to add the case to your annals, my dear Watson,” said Holmes that evening, “it can only be as an example of that temporary eclipse to which even the best-balanced mind may be exposed.”

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His manner was languid, his voice drawling, and while he eclipsed my uncle in the extravagance of his speech, he had not the air of manliness and decision which underlay all my kinsman’s affectations.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In fact, the goodies that this eclipse brings you could be life changing.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This rare event was not lost on the researchers, who were hoping to track this eclipse and measure the heat emanating from volcanos on Io’s surface.

(Massive Lava Waves Detected on Solar System’s Most Volcanically Active Object, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The study reveals the freezing effects of Jupiter’s shadow during daily eclipses on the moon’s volcanic gases.

(New Research Reveals Fluctuating Atmosphere of Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon, NASA)

The first represented clouds low and livid, rolling over a swollen sea: all the distance was in eclipse; so, too, was the foreground; or rather, the nearest billows, for there was no land.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)