shallow

[ shal-oh ]

/ ˈʃæl oʊ /

SEE 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.

noun

Usually shallows. (used with a singular or plural verb) a shallow part of a body of water; shoal.

adverb

Baseball. at a shallow position: With the pitcher up, the outfielders played shallow.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become shallow.

QUIZZES

This Word Of The Day Quiz Is Far From Thersitical

Have you mastered the meaning of phronesis? How about plethoric? Take the quiz on the words from the week of February 17 to 23 to find out.

Question 1 of 7

Lincolnesque

without interest or significance; dull; insipid.

like or characteristic of Abraham Lincoln.

very high or tall; lofty.

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Words nearby shallow

shall, shall i compare thee to a summer's day?, shalloon, shallop, shallot, shallow, shallow breathing, shalmaneser iii, shalom, shalom aleichem, shalosh seudoth

Origin of shallow

1350–1400; Middle English schalowe (adj.); akin to Old English sceald shallow (see shoal¹)

OTHER WORDS FROM shallow

shal·low·ly, adverbshal·low·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for shallower

“Megalodon fossils appear in shallower marine sediments,” Balk said.
Shark Week Is Lying Again: Megalodon Is Definitely Extinct|David Shiffman|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hertli also is considering creating lower-price items for those with shallower pockets but gilded aspirations.
Lingerie for the 1 Percent|CNBC|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Using fictional characters, Brooks describes a generation that has “a sense that they are shallower than they need to be.”
This Week's Best Journalism|The Daily Beast|January 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
When a deeper well is sunk, a shallower one is pretty sure to give out.
Expositions of Holy Scripture|Alexander Maclaren

Our tacks suddenly began to grow longer, and the depths, which I registered, shallower.
The Riddle of the Sands|Erskine Childers
The abandon of her slow, strong nature, had in it an intensity impossible to quicker and shallower affection.
Jan Vedder's Wife|Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Thus, in woman the pelvis is wider and shallower than in man.
The Sexual Life of the Child|Albert Moll
Posterior arms about one-third larger, also trifid, with one deeper anterior and one shallower posterior incision.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for shallower

shallow

/ (ˈʃæləʊ) /

adjective

having little depth

lacking intellectual or mental depth or subtlety; superficial

noun

(often plural) a shallow place in a body of water; shoal

verb

to make or become shallow

Derived forms of shallow

shallowly, adverbshallowness, 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

shallow

adjective, shal·low·er, shal·low·est.

noun

adverb

verb (used with or without object)

QUIZZES

Words related to shallow

Words nearby shallow

Origin of shallow

OTHER WORDS FROM shallow

Example sentences from the Web for shallower

British Dictionary definitions for shallower

adjective

noun

verb

Derived forms of shallow

Word Origin for shallow