shadowy

[shad-oh-ee]

adjective

shadowier, shadowiest 

1. resembling a shadow in faintness, slightness, etc..

   shadowy outlines.

2. unsubstantial, unreal, or illusory.

   shadowy preoccupations.

3. abounding in shadow; shady.

   a shadowy path.

4. enveloped in shadow.

5. casting a shadow.

shadowy

/ ˈʃædəʊɪ /

adjective

1. full of shadows; dark; shady

2. resembling a shadow in faintness; vague

3. illusory or imaginary

4. mysterious or secretive

   a shadowy underworld figure

Other Word Forms

• shadowiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shadowy¹

First recorded in 1325–75, shadowy is from the Middle English word shadewy. See shadow, -y ¹

Example Sentences

‘The public imagines a black market in a shadowy alley, but for most stolen jewelry, the black market is the mainstream market.’

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The shadowy nature of the unit and its operations have often led to accusations that its existence was illegal.

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Ling Li, a modern slavery researcher who operates an anti-trafficking NGO, said the shadowy private rescue sector made her work freeing workers more "complicated".

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But he does an excellent job of squaring the fading man before his eyes—the soppy grandparent and proud father—with the “shadowy, mysterious, sometimes frightening, often absent” stock figure from his youth.

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Scenes switch effortlessly from Prague, with its shadowy bridge looming over the Moldau, to a Brooklyn tenement, a busy office, a tony art gallery, and the roof of the Empire State Building.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dark 
• ghostly 
• shady