shadowy

adjective

shad·​owy ˈsha-dō-ē 

-də-wē

1

a

: of the nature of or resembling a shadow

b

: faintly perceptible : indistinct

2

: being in or obscured by shadow

deep shadowy interiors

3

a

: shady sense 1

b

: shady sense 3

shadowily

ˈsha-də-wə-lē 

adverb

shadowiness

ˈsha-də-wē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• blear
• bleary
• blurry
• dim
• faint
• foggy
• fuzzy
• gauzy
• hazy
• indefinite
• indistinct
• indistinguishable
• misty
• murky
• nebulous
• obscure
• opaque
• pale
• unclear
• undefined
• undetermined
• vague

Examples of shadowy in a Sentence

She was pursued by a shadowy figure.

He had only a shadowy idea of what they wanted him to do.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the specimens’ small size offered little idea of what this shadowy population of ancient hominins looked like, and the group has never been assigned an official scientific name. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 18 June 2025

Swimming through the shadowy waters off Palau, scuba divers watched life on a coral reef after dark. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 18 June 2025

Advertisement Advertisement One shadowy clause of international law, innocuously named Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), lets foreign corporations bypass national courts and sue governments in secretive tribunals, if public-interest laws threaten their profits. —Nathalie Kelley, Time, 17 June 2025

Iran and Israel's shadowy intelligence war has escalated with a group of Iranian dissidents claiming to leak a new nuclear weapons program by the Islamic Republic after Tehran shortly after Tehran alleged to have seized information alleged to be related to Israel's nuclear program. —Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

shadowy

adjective

shad·​owy ˈshad-ə-wē 

1

a

: not realistic

shadowy dreams of glory

b

: dim as a shadow

the shadowy area between good and bad

2

: full of shade

a shadowy lane