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shady

[ shey-dee ]
/ ˈʃeɪ di /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shady ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, shad·i·er, shad·i·est.

abounding in shade; shaded: shady paths.
giving shade: a shady tree.
shadowy; indistinct; spectral.
of dubious character; rather disreputable: shady dealings.

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RELATED WORDS

shadowy, shaded, leafy, cloudy, questionable, underhanded, unscrupulous, crooked, dishonest, dubious, slippery, cool, dim, dusky, indistinct, sheltered, vague, screened, umbrageous, adumbral

Nearby words

  1. shadowy,
  2. shadrach,
  3. shaduf,
  4. shadwell,
  5. shadwell, thomas,
  6. shaef,
  7. shaffer,
  8. shafi'i,
  9. shafiʿi,
  10. shaft

Idioms

    on the shady side of, Informal. beyond (the specified age); more than: on the shady side of 40.

Origin of shady

First recorded in 1570–80; shade + -y1
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shady

British Dictionary definitions for shady

shady

/ (ˈʃeɪdɪ) /

adjective shadier or shadiest

full of shade; shaded
affording or casting a shade
dim, quiet, or concealed
informal dubious or questionable as to honesty or legality
Derived Formsshadily, adverbshadiness, noun
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
Word Origin and History for shady

shady

adj.

"affording shade," 1570s; "protected by shade," 1590s; from shade (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "disreputable" (1862) probably is from earlier university slang sense of "of questionable merit, unreliable" (1848). Related: Shadily; shadiness. Old English had sceadlic "shady, 'shadely.'"

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper