shade

[sheyd]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shade ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the comparative darkness caused by the interception or screening of rays of light from an object, place, or area.

a place or an area of comparative darkness, as one sheltered from the sun.

window shade.

a lampshade.

shades,

darkness gathering at the close of day: Shades of night are falling.
Informal.sunglasses.
a reminder of something: shades of the Inquisition.

Usually shades. a secluded or obscure place: He was living in the shades.

comparative obscurity.

a specter or ghost.

Greek and Roman Religion. one of the spirits of the dead inhabiting Hades.

a shadow.

the degree of darkness of a color, determined by the quantity of black or by the lack of illumination.

comparative darkness, as the effect of shadow or dark and light, in pictorial representation; the dark part, or a dark part, of a picture or drawing.

a slight variation or degree: a shade of difference.

a little bit; touch, especially of something that may change the color of or lighten or darken something else: coffee with a shade of cream.

anything used for protection against excessive light, heat, etc.

(in architectural shades and shadows) a shadow upon those parts of a solid that are tangent to or turned away from the parallel rays from the theoretical light source.Compare shadow(def 11).

the shades, Hades, as the abode of the spirits of the dead.

verb (used with object), shad·ed, shad·ing.

to produce shade in or on.

to obscure, dim, or darken.

to screen or hide from view.

to protect (something) from light, heat, etc., by or as by a screen: to shade the eyes from a bright light.

to cover or screen (a candle, light, etc.): to shade a light to protect the eyes.

Fine Arts.

to introduce degrees of darkness into (a drawing or painting) in order to render light and shadow or give the effect of color.
to render the values of light and dark in (a drawn figure, object, etc.), especially in order to create the illusion of three-dimensionality.

to change by imperceptible degrees into something else.

to reduce (the price) by way of a concession.

Slang. to insult, criticize, or disrespect (a person or thing) in an indirect, artful manner: He got into a fight with someone who shaded his mom.

verb (used without object), shad·ed, shad·ing.

to pass or change by slight graduations, as one color, quality, or thing into another.

Verb Phrases

shade up, Agriculture. to take shelter (as livestock) from the sun.

Idioms

cast/put someone in/into the shade, to make another person's efforts seem insignificant by comparison; surpass: Her playing puts mine in the shade.

throw shade, Slang. to insult, criticize, or disrespect a person or thing in an indirect, artful manner:He threw some shade at his former boss.

Origin of shade

before 900; 1960–65 for def 29; (noun) Middle English s(c)hade, Old English sceadu (see shadow); cognate with German Schatten, Gothic skadus, Greek skótos; (v.) Middle English schaden, derivative of the noun

Related formsshade·less, adjectiveshade·less·ness, nounin·ter·shade, verb (used with object), in·ter·shad·ed, in·ter·shad·ing.sem·i·shade, nounun·shade, verb (used with object), un·shad·ed, un·shad·ing.

Can be confusedcolor hue shade tint

Synonyms for shade

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shade ON THESAURUS.COM

1. obscurity, gloom, dusk. 8. apparition, phantom, spirit. 13. bit. 14. trace, hint, suggestion. 15. veil, screen. 19. cloud, blur, obfuscate. 20. conceal, shelter.

Synonym study

1. Shade, shadow imply partial darkness or something less bright than the surroundings. Shade indicates the lesser brightness and heat of an area where the direct rays of light do not fall: the shade of a tree. It differs from shadow in that it implies no particular form or definite limit, whereas shadow often refers to the form or outline of the object that intercepts the light: the shadow of a dog. 15. See curtain.

Antonyms for shade

1. light, glare.

Regional variation note

3. See window shade.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shade

shadow, awning, curtain, tinge, stain, tint, tone, hint, variation, variety, dim, darken, shield, mute, conceal, blacken, obscure, darkness, dusk, screen

Examples from the Web for shade

Contemporary Examples of shade

Petty, shade, and thirst are my favorite human “virtues” and the trifecta of any good series of “stories.”
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist
Judnick Mayard
January 8, 2015
It took me 1,015 strokes to see this shade of green in a world of orange, and my jaw nearly dropped.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art
Alec Kubas-Meyer
January 2, 2015
Later schools empty out children, who race over to play games in the shade.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind
Brin-Jonathan Butler
December 19, 2014
In fact, the only shade of reaction besides enthusiasm Carter and Knight got to the project was some misplaced confusion.
'Nick & Knight': Nick Carter and Jordan Knight Are Your New Boy Band Power Couple
Kevin Fallon
September 4, 2014
One was overgrown with trees, where young men rested in the shade.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple
Michael Luongo
August 21, 2014

Historical Examples of shade

He descended the slope, and sat down in the shade of a broad-leaved tree.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
What instinct made you choose that shade of pale green for your frock?
Viviette
William J. Locke
A commercial minister had appeared on the scene, and the shade of Hoskisson had revived.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
A shade of thought passed over his face as he looked at her.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
He had drawn the car close to a bank, and they were sitting in the shade, on the grass.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for shade

shade

noun

relative darkness produced by the blocking out of light

a place made relatively darker or cooler than other areas by the blocking of light, esp sunlight

a position of relative obscurity

something used to provide a shield or protection from a direct source of light, such as a lampshade

a darker area indicated in a painting, drawing, etc, by shading

a colour that varies slightly from a standard colour due to a difference in hue, saturation, or luminositya darker shade of green

a slight amounta shade of difference

literary a ghost

an archaic word for shadow

put in the shade to appear better than (another); surpass

verb (mainly tr)

to screen or protect from heat, light, view, etc

to make darker or dimmer

to represent (a darker area) in (a painting, drawing, etc), by means of hatching, using a darker colour, etc

(also intr) to change or cause to change slightly

to lower (a price) slightly

Derived Formsshadeless, adjective

Word Origin for shade

Old English sceadu; related to Gothic skadus, Old High German skato, Old Irish scāth shadow, Greek skotos darkness, Swedish skäddä fog

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shade

Middle English schade, Kentish ssed, from late Old English scead "partial darkness; shelter, protection," also partly from sceadu "shade, shadow, darkness; shady place, arbor, protection from glare or heat," both from Proto-Germanic *skadwaz (cf. Old Saxon skado, Middle Dutch scade, Dutch schaduw, Old High German scato, German Schatten, Gothic skadus), from PIE *skot-wo-, from root *skot- "dark, shade" (cf. Greek skotos "darkness, gloom," Albanian kot "darkness," Old Irish scath, Old Welsh scod, Breton squeut "darkness," Gaelic sgath "shade, shadow, shelter").

Figurative use in reference to comparative obscurity is from 1640s. Meaning "a ghost" is from 1610s; dramatic (or mock-dramatic) expression "shades of _____" to invoke or acknowledge a memory is from 1818, from the "ghost" sense. Meaning "lamp cover" is from 1780. Sense of "window blind" first recorded 1845. Meaning "cover to protect the eyes" is from 1801. Meaning "grade of color" first recorded 1680s; that of "degree or gradiation of darkness in a color" is from 1680s (cf. nuance, from French nue "cloud"). Meaning "small amount or degree" is from 1782.

c.1400, "to screen from light or heat," from shade (n.). From 1520s as "to cast a shadow over;" figurative use in this sense from 1580s. Sense in painting and drawing is from 1797. In reference to colors, 1819. Related: Shaded; shading.