Word.ws English Dictionary

take the shadow for the substance

take the shadow for the substance verb: to be easily deceived, credulous, superficial.

Verb

take the shadow for the substance (third-person singular simple present takes the shadow for the substance, present participle taking the shadow for the substance, simple past took the shadow for the substance, past participle taken the shadow for the substance)

  1. (idiomatic) To be easily deceived, credulous, superficial.

take the shadow for the substance meaning in Bengali

take the shadow for the substance in Bengali

সহজে প্রতারিত হওয়া, বিশ্বাসপ্রবণ হওয়া, ভাসা ভাসা হওয়া

Forms of take the shadow for the substance

third-person singular presenttakes the shadow for the substance
present participletaking the shadow for the substance
pasttook the shadow for the substance
past participletaken the shadow for the substance

Origin of take the shadow for the substance

Traditional, particularly in sermons; attested since 1818.

Questions about take the shadow for the substance

What does take the shadow for the substance mean?
Take the shadow for the substance means to be easily deceived, credulous, superficial.
What is take the shadow for the substance in Bengali?
Take the shadow for the substance in Bengali is সহজে প্রতারিত হওয়া, বিশ্বাসপ্রবণ হওয়া, ভাসা ভাসা হওয়া. See Take the shadow for the substance meaning in Bengali.
What part of speech is take the shadow for the substance?
Take the shadow for the substance is a verb.
What is the past tense of take the shadow for the substance?
The past tense of take the shadow for the substance is took the shadow for the substance.

Words near take the shadow for the substance in the dictionary

  1. take the reins
  2. take the ride
  3. take the roll
  4. take the rough with the smooth
  5. take the salute
  6. take the shadow for the substance
  7. take the shilling
  8. take the shine out of
  9. take the stage
  10. take the stand
  11. take the studs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: take the shadow for the substance (page history and authors); take the shadow for the substance (Bengali 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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-take the shadow for the substance.ogg.

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