a dark figure or image cast on the ground or some surface by a body intercepting light.
shade or comparative darkness, as in an area.
shadows,darkness, especially that coming after sunset.
shelter; protection: sanctuary in the shadow of the church.
a slight suggestion; trace: beyond the shadow of a doubt.
a specter or ghost: pursued by shadows.
a hint or faint, indistinct image or idea; intimation: shadows of things to come.
a mere semblance: the shadow of power.
a reflected image.
(in painting, drawing, graphics, etc.)
the representation of the absence of light on a form.
the dark part of a picture, especially as representing the absence of illumination: Rembrandt's figures often emerge gradually from the shadows.
(in architectural shades and shadows) a dark figure or image cast by an object or part of an object upon a surface that would otherwise be illuminated by the theoretical light source.Compare shade (def. 16).
a period or instance of gloom, unhappiness, mistrust, doubt, dissension, or the like, as in friendship or one's life: Their relationship was not without shadows.
a dominant or pervasive threat, influence, or atmosphere, especially one causing gloom, fear, doubt, or the like: They lived under the shadow of war.
an inseparable companion: The dog was his shadow.
a person who follows another in order to keep watch upon that person, as a spy or detective.
verb (used with object)
to overspread with shadow; shade.
to cast a gloom over; cloud: The incident shadowed their meeting.
to screen or protect from light, heat, etc.; shade.
to follow and observe (a person): Spies and secret agents shadowed government officials in clandestine assignments during the Cold War.All new employees will be assigned a mentor whom they will shadow during their first week at work.
to represent faintly, prophetically, etc. (often followed by forth).
Archaic. to shelter or protect.
Archaic. to shade in painting, drawing, etc.
adjective
of or relating to a shadow cabinet.
without official authority: a shadow government.
Origin of shadow
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun shadwe, shadu(e), shadow(e), Old English sceadu, oblique case scead(u)we; Middle English verb shadwe(n), shadu(e) “to shade, provide shade, cast a shadow, protect,” Old English sceadwian “to cover with shadow, protect,” derivative of the noun; compare Old Saxon skadowan, skadoian, Gothic (ufar)skadwjan “to (over)shadow”; see also shade, shadow
synonym study for shadow
1. See shade.
OTHER WORDS FROM shadow
shad·ow·er,nounshad·ow·less,adjectiveshad·ow·like,adjectivepre·shad·ow,noun,verb (used with object)
The United Nations will meet for a virtual General Assembly later this month in the shadow of a looming funding crisis.
Butterfly Effect: “Law and Order” at Home, “Let it Burn” Abroad|Charu Kasturi|September 10, 2020|Ozy
Rodríguez was a shadow of the active and positive person she said she used to be.
Cuban doctor contracts coronavirus in ICE custody|Yariel Valdés González|September 9, 2020|Washington Blade
The shadow of Tom Brady’s long and storied Patriots career will hang over the team for the foreseeable future, even as No.
Newton Can Replace Brady, But Can The Pats Replace Half Of Their Defense?|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|September 3, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
That shadow revealed that the middle ring is warped, swooping up on one side and down on the other.
A weirdly warped planet-forming disk circles a distant trio of stars|Lisa Grossman|September 3, 2020|Science News
Because having them come into the country and live in the shadows and have jobs that they are overqualified for, I don’t think that’s the American Dream.
Full Transcript: Tomi Lahren on ‘The Carlos Watson Show’|Daniel Malloy|August 31, 2020|Ozy
Brinsley came from behind a police cruiser parked on a busy street in the shadow of the Tompkins Public Houses.
Alleged Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Had a Death Wish|M.L. Nestel|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If we begin to see the other as our possession and commodity, our shoe, the shadow of our shadow, is there ever a happy outcome?
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They seem to belong to us, and then they freely go—behavior very uncharacteristic of a shadow or a shoe.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hitchcock saw the work of, and probably met, Murnau, the great German filmmaker--the earliest master of bleak light and shadow.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Krampus makes manifest the shadow sides of human nature that Christianity seeks to repress.
Meet Krampus, the Seriously Bad Santa|Jay Michaelson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Alone the thick polled alders remain green, and in their shadow the brook is still darker.
Nature Near London|Richard Jefferies
Margaret saw his shadow as it lingered, but she continued her employment.
Love After Marriage; and Other Stories of the Heart|Caroline Lee Hentz
The germ and shadow and likelihood of each of those acts is in the fashion and line and detail of her garments.
I, Mary MacLane|Mary MacLane
He had created a new property, as was testified by the vast pyramid of ivory that stood under the shadow of the great nwana-tree!
The Bush Boys|Captain Mayne Reid
It is easy, says the king, alarmed, for the shadow to go down ten steps.
The Book of Isaiah, Volume I (of 2)|George Adam Smith
British Dictionary definitions for shadow
shadow
/ (ˈʃædəʊ) /
noun
a dark image or shape cast on a surface by the interception of light rays by an opaque body
an area of relative darkness
the dark portions of a picture
a hint, image, or faint semblancebeyond a shadow of a doubt
a remnant or vestigea shadow of one's past self
a reflection
a threatening influence; blighta shadow over one's happiness
a spectre
an inseparable companion
a person who trails another in secret, such as a detective
meda dark area on an X-ray film representing an opaque structure or part
(in Jungian psychology) the archetype that represents man's animal ancestors
archaic, orrareprotection or shelter
(modifier)Britishdesignating a member or members of the main opposition party in Parliament who would hold ministerial office if their party were in powershadow Chancellor; shadow cabinet
verb(tr)
to cast a shadow over
to make dark or gloomy; blight
to shade from light
to follow or trail secretly
(often foll by forth)to represent vaguely
paintingdrawing another word for shade (def. 13)
Derived forms of shadow
shadower, nounshadowless, adjective
Word Origin for shadow
Old English sceadwe, oblique case of sceadushade; related to Dutch schaduw