shady

[shey-dee]

adjective

shadier, shadiest 

1. abounding in shade; shaded: shade.

   shady paths.

2. giving shade.

   a shady tree.

3. shadowy; indistinct; spectral.

4. of dubious character; rather disreputable.

   shady dealings.

shady

/ ˈʃeɪdɪ /

adjective

1. full of shade; shaded

2. affording or casting a shade

3. dim, quiet, or concealed

4. informal,  dubious or questionable as to honesty or legality

Other Word Forms

• shadily adverb
• shadiness noun
• unshadily adverb
• unshadiness noun
• unshady adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shady¹

First recorded in 1570–80; shade + -y ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the shady side of, beyond (the specified age); more than.

   on the shady side of 40.

Example Sentences

As for the ring, the shady characters who dealt in stolen items were well known to the Saint Petersburg police, and officers were dispatched to interview them all.

Read more on Literature

The alarming news concerned a shady character who had recently joined the Swanburne board of trustees.

Read more on Literature

“The theater attracts all sorts of shady characters. Always has,” Baron Hoover observed.

Read more on Literature

Foster’s Jim, believably disturbed and shady but a bit on the nose, isn’t the movie’s first problem.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I ate my pastries under a shady pergola and biked back to the hotel for a quintessential Miami afternoon: following the sun from pool to beach.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crooked 
• dishonest 
• dubious 
• questionable 
• slippery 
• underhanded 
• unscrupulous