adjective
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full of shadows; dark; shady
-
resembling a shadow in faintness; vague
-
illusory or imaginary
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mysterious or secretive
a shadowy underworld figure
Other Word Forms
- shadowiness noun
Etymology
Origin of shadowy
First recorded in 1325–75, shadowy is from the Middle English word shadewy. See shadow, -y 1
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.
These days stars are more likely to reveal their own secrets on social media than have them revealed by a shadowy investigator.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Mojtaba, a 56-year-old cleric, is a shadowy figure said to have amassed significant power and wealth under his father's rule.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
The world’s largest cash buyer of ships for scrap is setting its sights on the shadowy tankers that ferry illicit oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
Three years later, Hale is working for the Orphanage, a shadowy American intelligence agency that spies on all the less-shadowy American intelligence agencies — watching the watchers.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2025
Like, don’t you wonder who the shadowy lady really is?
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
