shadow
a dark figure or image cast on the ground or some surface by a body intercepting light.
shade or comparative darkness, as in an area.
shadows, darkness, especially that coming after sunset.
shelter; protection: sanctuary in the shadow of the church.
a slight suggestion; trace: beyond the shadow of a doubt.
a specter or ghost: pursued by shadows.
a hint or faint, indistinct image or idea; intimation: shadows of things to come.
a mere semblance: the shadow of power.
a reflected image.
(in painting, drawing, graphics, etc.)
the representation of the absence of light on a form.
the dark part of a picture, especially as representing the absence of illumination: Rembrandt's figures often emerge gradually from the shadows.
(in architectural shades and shadows) a dark figure or image cast by an object or part of an object upon a surface that would otherwise be illuminated by the theoretical light source.: Compare shade (def. 9).
a period or instance of gloom, unhappiness, mistrust, doubt, dissension, or the like, as in friendship or one's life: Their relationship was not without shadows.
a dominant or pervasive threat, influence, or atmosphere, especially one causing gloom, fear, doubt, or the like: They lived under the shadow of war.
an inseparable companion: The dog was his shadow.
a person who follows another in order to keep watch upon that person, as a spy or detective.
to screen or protect from light, heat, etc.; shade.
to follow and observe (a person): Spies and secret agents shadowed government officials in clandestine assignments during the Cold War.All new employees will be assigned a mentor whom they will shadow during their first week at work.
to represent faintly, prophetically, etc. (often followed by forth).
Archaic. to shelter or protect.
Archaic. to shade in painting, drawing, etc.
of or relating to a shadow cabinet.
without official authority: a shadow government.
unofficial or without public notice; characterized by secrecy or performed in a way that is difficult to detect; clandestine: shadow ban;shadow docket;shadow inflation.
Origin of shadow
1synonym study For shadow
Other words from shadow
- shad·ow·er, noun
- shad·ow·less, adjective
- shad·ow·like, adjective
- pre·shad·ow, noun, verb (used with object)
Words Nearby shadow
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shadow in a sentence
The United Nations will meet for a virtual General Assembly later this month in the shadow of a looming funding crisis.
Butterfly Effect: “Law and Order” at Home, “Let it Burn” Abroad | Charu Kasturi | September 10, 2020 | OzyRodríguez was a shadow of the active and positive person she said she used to be.
Cuban doctor contracts coronavirus in ICE custody | Yariel Valdés González | September 9, 2020 | Washington BladeThe shadow of Tom Brady’s long and storied Patriots career will hang over the team for the foreseeable future, even as No.
Newton Can Replace Brady, But Can The Pats Replace Half Of Their Defense? | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | September 3, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThat shadow revealed that the middle ring is warped, swooping up on one side and down on the other.
A weirdly warped planet-forming disk circles a distant trio of stars | Lisa Grossman | September 3, 2020 | Science NewsBecause having them come into the country and live in the shadows and have jobs that they are overqualified for, I don’t think that’s the American Dream.
Forty-two years after its debut, The Godfather casts a long shadow over American cinema.
Searchers reported seeing a large shadow on the seabed, suggesting the crashed jet has been located.
Brinsley came from behind a police cruiser parked on a busy street in the shadow of the Tompkins Public Houses.
Alleged Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Had a Death Wish | M.L. Nestel | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf we begin to see the other as our possession and commodity, our shoe, the shadow of our shadow, is there ever a happy outcome?
They seem to belong to us, and then they freely go—behavior very uncharacteristic of a shadow or a shoe.
Before Ripperda could unclasp his lips to reply, the stranger had opened the door, and passed through it like a gliding shadow.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThe man that giveth heed to lying visions, is like to him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousShe looked up in his face, leaning on his arm beneath the encircling shadow of the umbrella which he had lifted.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin"We are going into the sunlight, out of the shadow;" and she glanced back at the west, which was of a slaty blackness.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonHe went on, ruminating on the vain shadow, into which his over-heated ambition to act and to be distinguished, had involved him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
British Dictionary definitions for shadow
/ (ˈʃædəʊ) /
a dark image or shape cast on a surface by the interception of light rays by an opaque body
an area of relative darkness
the dark portions of a picture
a hint, image, or faint semblance: beyond a shadow of a doubt
a remnant or vestige: a shadow of one's past self
a reflection
a threatening influence; blight: a shadow over one's happiness
a spectre
an inseparable companion
a person who trails another in secret, such as a detective
med a dark area on an X-ray film representing an opaque structure or part
(in Jungian psychology) the archetype that represents man's animal ancestors
archaic, or rare protection or shelter
(modifier) British designating a member or members of the main opposition party in Parliament who would hold ministerial office if their party were in power: shadow Chancellor; shadow cabinet
to cast a shadow over
to make dark or gloomy; blight
to shade from light
to follow or trail secretly
(often foll by forth) to represent vaguely
painting drawing another word for shade (def. 13)
Origin of shadow
1Derived forms of shadow
- shadower, noun
- shadowless, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with shadow
In addition to the idiom beginning with shadow
- shadow of one's self
also see:
- afraid of one's own shadow
- beyond a (shadow of a) doubt
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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