Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for shallow on Thesaurus.com adjective, shal·low·er, shal·low·est. of little depth; not deep: shallow water. lacking depth; superficial: a mind that is not narrow but shallow. taking in a relatively small amount of air in each inhalation: shallow breathing. Baseball relatively close to home plate: The shortstop caught the pop fly in shallow left field. Show More
Usually shallows. (used with a singular or plural verb ) a shallow part of a body of water; shoal. Show More
Baseball at a shallow position: With the pitcher up, the outfielders played shallow. Show More
verb (used with or without object) to make or become shallow. Show More
Origin of shallow 1350–1400; Middle English schalowe (adj.); akin to
Old English sceald shallow (see
shoal1 )
Related forms shal·low·ly , adverb shal·low·ness , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for shallower flat ,
trivial ,
empty ,
hollow ,
foolish ,
frothy ,
shelf ,
slight ,
surface ,
shoal ,
trifling ,
petty ,
simple ,
flimsy ,
piddling ,
idle ,
lightweight ,
cursory ,
superficial ,
unsound Examples from the Web for shallower Contemporary Examples of shallower “Megalodon fossils appear in shallower marine sediments,” Balk said.
Hertli also is considering creating lower-price items for those with shallower pockets but gilded aspirations.
Using fictional characters, Brooks describes a generation that has “a sense that they are shallower than they need to be.”
Historical Examples of shallower He hurried along the edge, looking for a shallower place, but found none.
The trench is not to be sunk deeper than two feet and a half, or shallower than one foot and a half.
The fish sheered to and fro, and would not come into shallower water.
The swirl of the current swept him into the shallower stream below.
Shallower men than he had gone out as ministers of the great Republic.
British Dictionary definitions for shallower having little depth lacking intellectual or mental depth or subtlety; superficial Show More
(often plural) a shallow place in a body of water; shoal Show More
to make or become shallow Show More
Derived Forms shallowly , adverb shallowness , noun Word Origin for shallow C15: related to Old English sceald shallow; see shoal 1
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 shallower adj. c.1400, schalowe "not deep," probably from or related to Old English sceald (see shoal (n.)). Of breathing, attested from 1875; of thought or feeling, "superficial," first recorded 1580s. The noun, usually shallows , is first recorded 1570s, from the adjective.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
