adjective
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full of shadows; dark; shady
-
resembling a shadow in faintness; vague
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illusory or imaginary
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mysterious or secretive
a shadowy underworld figure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of shadowy
First recorded in 1325–75, shadowy is from the Middle English word shadewy. See shadow, -y 1
Explanation
The adjective shadowy is good for describing things that are mysterious or hard to see, like a dim figure in the fog or the social rules of a typical middle school. Indistinct or faint objects are shadowy, whether they're distant people standing in a dark alley or birds you can barely see against the choppy surface of the ocean. You can also describe something that's ghostly or unreal as shadowy. A shadowy room or a shadowy figure brushing past you would both be insubstantial and vaguely spooky. The root of shadowy is the Old English word sceadu, "shade, shadow, or darkness."
Vocabulary lists containing shadowy
"Ode to the Table" by Pablo Neruda
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The One and Only Ivan
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The Wild Robot
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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.
Fluorescent light touches almost every corner, but the few shadowy passages seem even more sinister when surrounded by endless lumination.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
It’ll introduce us to two shadowy figures in the industry: Hank Molt and Tommy Crutchfield, whose rivalry over supplying rare species to U.S. zoos changed the reptile world.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
With street lights off, residents walked home through shadowy neighbourhoods while cinemas that usually buzz with late screenings stayed dark.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 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 cold pale world of the shadowy dead was woman’s sphere in Norse mythology.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
