Word.ws English Dictionary

shadow play

shadow play noun: an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images.

Noun

shadow play (countable and uncountable, plural shadow plays)

  1. (hand games) An ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images.
    • The project invokes aesthetics particularly associated with children: play, craft, and amateurism. Indeed, especially in segments that employ elements such as a spotlight and shadowplay, Green Porno is reminiscent of an elementary-school pageant.2018, Nicole Seymour, Bad Environmentalism, page 86
    Synonyms:
    shadow puppetry
  2. A play of this form.

shadow play meaning in Tamil, Telugu, Malay and Indonesian

shadow play in Tamil

நிழற்கூத்து, சாயையாட்டம்

shadow play in Telugu

form of storytelling using opaque figures in front of an illuminated backdrop
తోలుబొమ్మలాట tōlubommalāṭa

shadow play in Malay

form of storytelling using opaque figures in front of an illuminated backdrop
wayang kulit

shadow play in Indonesian

form of storytelling using opaque figures in front of an illuminated backdrop
wayang

Synonyms of shadow play

Forms of shadow play

pluralshadow plays
alternative formshadowplay

Origin of shadow play

From shadow + play.

Questions about shadow play

What does shadow play mean?
Shadow play means an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images.
What is shadow play in Tamil?
Shadow play in Tamil is நிழற்கூத்து, சாயையாட்டம். See Shadow play meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is shadow play?
Shadow play is a noun.
What is the plural of shadow play?
The plural of shadow play is shadow plays.

Words near shadow play in the dictionary

  1. shadow matter
  2. shadow memory
  3. shadow minister
  4. shadow ministers
  5. shadow of one's former self
  6. shadow play
  7. shadow plays
  8. shadow price
  9. shadow priced
  10. shadow prices
  11. shadow pricing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shadow play (page history and authors); shadow play (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). 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.

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