Word.ws English Dictionary

taking the shadow for the substance

taking the shadow for the substance is the present participle and gerund of take the shadow for the substance.

Meaning of take the shadow for the substance

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.

Questions about taking the shadow for the substance

What is taking the shadow for the substance the present participle and gerund of?
Taking the shadow for the substance is the present participle and gerund of take the shadow for the substance.

Words near taking the shadow for the substance in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking the shadow for the substance (page history and authors); take the shadow for the substance (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.

Last updated:

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