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Synonyms

shades

British  
/ ʃeɪdz /

plural noun

  1. gathering darkness at nightfall

  2. a slang word for sunglasses

  3. (often capital) a literary term for Hades

  4. (foll by of) undertones or suggestions

    shades of my father!
"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Blackout shades were raised; people poured into the streets, shouting, dancing and embracing.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

There were shades of difference among the commentators, but they mostly batted for the same team.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

More than 400 small manufacturing clusters here make glass items ranging from car headlamp covers and bangles to light shades, decorative items and chandeliers, feeding a domestic market worth over $200mn.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

And they come in a myriad of shades — a red hue doesn’t always indicate ripeness.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

More than thirty envelopes in various shades of pink sat stacked in an old shoebox.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.