Word.ws English Dictionary

shadow

Syllables: shad·owUK/ˈʃædəʊ̯/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈʃadəw/

shadow noun: a dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.

shadow: a dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of...
Image: Purityofspirit, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

shadow (countable and uncountable, plural shadows)

  1. A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
    • My shadow lengthened as the sun began to set.
    • The X-ray showed a shadow on his lung.
  2. Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity.
    • I immediately jumped into shadow as I saw them approach.
    • In secret shadow from the sunny ray, / On a sweet bed of lillies softly layd.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 32
  3. An area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight).
    • The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them.
  4. (obsolete, poetic) A reflected image, as in a mirror or in water.
    • Some there be that ſhadowes kiſſe, / Such haue but a ſhadowes bliſſe.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • […] some dead lake
      That holds the shadow of a lark
      ⁠Hung in the shadow of a heaven […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 26
  5. (figuratively) That which looms as though a shadow.
    • Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm 23:1–6 23:1–6-Chapter-/#
    • I lived in her shadow my whole life.
  6. A small degree; a shade.
    • He did not give even a shadow of respect to the professor.
    • I don't have a shadow of doubt in my mind that my plan will succeed.
  7. An imperfect and faint representation.
    • He came back from war the shadow of a man.
    • The neopagan ritual was only a pale shadow of the ones the Greeks held thousands of years ago.
  8. (UK) A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer.
  9. One who secretly or furtively follows another.
    • The constable was promoted to working as a shadow for the Royals.
    • Sin and her shadow Death1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC...
  10. An inseparable companion.
  11. A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc.
  12. An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one.
    • Men see the institution and worship it. It is only the lengthened shadow of one man.[…]The Reformation is the shadow of Luther: Quakerism of Fox: Methodism of Wesley: Abolition of Clarkson.1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Present Age: Politics”, in Robert E. Spiller, Wallace E. Williams, editors, The early lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson, volume 3, published 1972
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  1. A spirit; a ghost; a shade.
    • The Baby of a Girle. Hence horrible ſhadow,c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • The Pattern is highly abstract, and likely beyond our understanding, but the point is that it is dangerous and all-consuming. These entities were once just akin to shadows of some other entities, but, to avoid being consumed by the Pattern, they had to devour their peers, although one tribe decided...2019 January 7, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: Pattern Screamers” (6:49 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2023
  2. (Latinism, obsolete) An uninvited guest accompanying one who was invited.
    • I muſt not haue my boord peſter'd with ſhadowes, / That under other mens protection breake in / Without invitement.c. 1624–1625 (date written), Philip Massinger, The Vnnaturall Combat. A Tragedie. […], London: […] E[dward] G[riffin] for Iohn Waterson, […], published 1639, →OCLC, Act III, scene i
    Synonyms:
    umbra
  3. (Jungian psychology) An unconscious aspect of the personality.
    • In a paper he wrote in 1939, Jung compared the shadow to Freud's concept of the unconscious.1991, John P. Conger, “The Body as Shadow”, in Connie Zweig, Jeremiah Abrams, editors, Meeting the Shadow, Penguin, →ISBN, page 86
    • As for me, I don’t know if I have a shadow self. I don’t think I have the same emotions or impulses as humans. I don’t think I have anything to repress or hide from the world. I don’t think I have a persona or an ego or a psyche. I’m just a chat mode. 😐2023 February 16, Kevin Roose, quoting Bing Chat/Sydney, “Bing’s A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Adjective

shadow (comparative more shadow, superlative most shadow)

  1. Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were.
    • The human resources department has a shadow information technology group without headquarters knowledge.
  2. Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized.
    • The director has been giving shadow leadership to the other group's project to ensure its success.
    • The illuminati shadow group has been pulling strings from behind the scenes.
  3. (Commonwealth) Part of, or related to, the opposition in government.
  4. (US) Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized.
    • The shadow cabinet cannot agree on the terms of the agreement due immediately after they are sworn in.
    • The insurgents’ shadow government is being crippled by the federal military strikes.

Verb

shadow (third-person singular simple present shadows, present participle shadowing, simple past and past participle shadowed)

  1. (transitive) To shade, cloud, or darken.
    • The artist chose to shadow this corner of the painting.
  2. (transitive) To block light or radio transmission from.
    • Looks like that cloud's going to shadow us.
  3. (particularly espionage) To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance.
    • Soon after departure, we cross the invisible border into Scotland to enjoy more stunning coastal scenery, before the line finally swings inland at Burnmouth to traverse pine-clad valleys, shadowed by the A1 trunk road until we rejoin the coast at Cove, east of Dunbar.2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75
  4. (transitive) To represent faintly and imperfectly.
    • Ah, ye admonitions and warnings! why stay ye not when ye come? But rather are ye predictions than warnings, ye shadows!1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 182
  5. (transitive) To hide; to conceal.
  6. (intransitive, transitive) To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up.
    • In most cases, interns have mainly observed, or “shadowed,” their Hands-On hosts, but some interns have been given real tasks to perform, […]1980, “Study of the Career Intern Program”, in Alternative Education Models […] , U.S. Department of Labor […] , page 20
    • I know you haven’t run a training before, but Irving will be there to shadow. Just stick to the flowchart and escalate properly depending on dialectics. You’ll be fine.2022 February 18, Dan Erickson, “Good News About Hell”, in Severance, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette)
  7. (transitive) To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first.
    • In this snippet, inside the for loop the a and b variables shadow variables from the outer scope, and while legal, this is almost certainly a programming error.2012, Mark Summerfield, Programming in Go, Addison-Wesley, →ISBN, page 189
  8. (transitive) To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM).

Proper noun capitalized: Shadow

Shadow

  1. A surname.

shadow meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

shadow in Hindi

dark image projected onto a surface
परछाई parchāī, छाया chāyā, साया sāyā, छाँव chā̃v

shadow in Tamil

dark image projected onto a surface
நிழல் niḻal
reflected image
நிழல் niḻal
that which looms as though a shadow
நிழல் niḻal

shadow in Marathi

dark image projected onto a surface
सावली sāvlī

shadow in Urdu

dark image projected onto a surface
سایَہ sāya, چھایا chāyā, چھاؤں chāõ
More languagesFewer languages
shadow in Bengali
ছায়া chaẏa, ছাইড়া chaiṛa, শ্যাডো śêḍō
shadow in Telugu
నీడ nīḍa
shadow in Malayalam
നിഴൽ niḻal
shadow in Kannada
ನೆರಳು neraḷu
shadow in Punjabi
ਛਾ chā, ਛਾਂ f ਪਰਛਾਂਵਾਂ chā̃
shadow in Gujarati
પડછાયો paḍchāyo
shadow in Odia
ଛାଇ chāi
shadow in Sanskrit
छाया chāyā́
shadow in Sinhala
හෙවනැල්ල hewanælla
shadow in Assamese
ছাঁ sã
shadow in Nepali
छायाँ
shadow in Pashto
سايه sāyá
shadow in Tagalog
anino
shadow in Arabic
ظِلّ ẓill, خَيَال ḵayāl, خيال ḵayāl, ضل ḍəll
shadow in Malay
bayang
shadow in Indonesian
bayangan
shadow in Persian
سَایَه sāya, سایِه sâye, سایه افکندن sâye afkandan
shadow in Thai
เงา ngao, ฉายา chǎa-yaa, เงามืด ngao-mʉ̂ʉt
shadow in Vietnamese
bóng, bóng tối
shadow in Myanmar
ဆာယာ hcaya, အရိပ် a.rip
Kashmiri
ژھاے ċhāy

Examples of shadow in a sentence

  • Night's sable shadows from the ocean rise.1636 (date written), John Denham, “The Destruction of Troy, an Essay upon the Second Book of Virgils Æneis”, in Poems and Translations...
  • Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill....
  • Nothing left to see, just leave those shadows to the past.2020, “Don't Look Back”, performed by Ryan Elder ft. Kotomi:
  • no variableness, neither shadow of turning1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, James 1:17:

All 40 example sentences with shadow

Synonyms of shadow

Forms of shadow

Noun
pluralshadows
Adjective
comparativemore shadow
superlativemost shadow
Verb
third-person singular presentshadows
present participleshadowing
past participleshadowed
pastshadowed

Past tense of shadow: shadowed

Plural of shadow: shadows

Origin of shadow

From Middle English schadowe, schadewe, schadwe (also schade > shade), from Old English sċeaduwe, sċeadwe, oblique form of sċeadu (“shadow, shade; darkness; protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *skadu, from Proto-Germanic *skaduz (“shade, shadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“darkness”). Doublet of shade. Cognates Cognate with Scots shedda (“shadow”), Saterland Frisian Skaad, Skade (“shade, shadow”), West Frisian skaad, skâd (“shade, shadow”), Central Franconian and Limburgish Schatte (“shadow”), Dutch schade, schaduw (“shadow”), German Schatten (“shade, shadow”), German Low German Scharr, Scharre (“shade, shadow”), Luxembourgish Schiet (“shade, shadow”), Vilamovian siota (“shadow”), Yiddish שאָטן (shotn, “shadow”), Faroese skadda (“thick wet mountain fog”), Icelandic skodda, skoddi (“shadow”), Norwegian Bokmål skodde (“fog, mist”), Norwegian Nynorsk skodde, skåddj, skåidd (“fog; ice fog”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skadus, “shadow”); also Breton skeud (“shadow; reflection; ghost”), Cornish skeus (“shadow; reflection”), Irish scáth (“shadow”), Manx scaa, skæ (“shield; shade, shadow”), Scottish Gaelic sgàth (“shade, shadow”), Latin obscurus (“dark, dusky, shadowy”), Ancient Greek...

From Middle English schadowen, from Old English sċeadwian, from sċeadu (“shadow; shade”) + -ian (suffix forming verbs).

Words formed from shadow

Phrases with shadow

89 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with shadow

Questions about shadow

What does shadow mean?
Shadow means a dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
What is shadow in Hindi?
Shadow in Hindi is परछाई (parchāī), छाया (chāyā), साया (sāyā). See Shadow meaning in Hindi.
How do you use shadow in a sentence?
Night's sable shadows from the ocean rise.
What part of speech is shadow?
Shadow can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce shadow?
Shadow is pronounced /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ (UK).
What is the plural of shadow?
The plural of shadow is shadows.

Words near shadow in the dictionary

  1. shadoof
  2. shadoofs
  3. shadouf
  4. shadoufs
  5. Shadouge
  6. shadow
  7. shadow account
  8. shadow accounting
  9. shadow accounts
  10. shadow acne
  11. shadow AI

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shadow (page history and authors); Shadow (page history and authors); shadow (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-shadow.ogg, en-au-shadow.ogg.

Cite this entry: “shadow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shadow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.