1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

shadow 1 of 2

noun

ˈsha-(ˌ)dō How to pronounce shadow (audio)
Definition of shadownext
1
as in shade
partial darkness due to the obstruction of light rays the valley was in shadow

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in black
shadows plural a time or place of little or no light lurking in the shadows

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in trace
a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished a run-down mansion that is only a shadow of its former glory

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in glimmer
a very small amount not even a shadow of a doubt about the defendant's guilt

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in ghost
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people rumors of a shadow haunting the castle

Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in cloud
an overspreading element that produces an atmosphere of gloom the husband's adulterous affair had cast over their marriage a shadow from which there was no escape

Synonyms & Similar Words

shadow

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to chase
to go after or on the track of shadowing the suspect to see what he was up to

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct thickening clouds shadowed the countryside

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to shade
to shelter (something) from light and heat a pathway shadowed by a canopy of arching branches

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shadow
Noun
For the last year, that September day has cast a long shadow over everything that has happened at Spurs. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 The rahbar network is the shadow banking and financial apparatus utilized by the regime. — Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
Lemon also shadowed his position on the field when watching from the sidelines. — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 And part of the prize was going to shadow Zack on the set of Justice League. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shadow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shadow
  1. shade
  2. black
  3. trace
  4. glimmer
  5. ghost
  6. cloud
  7. chase
  8. obscure
Noun
  • Johnson has recently taken her brunette hair a few shades darker for fall, the richer color worn loose around her shoulders with her trademark brow-skimming bangs.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The rich chocolate brown shade makes the pairing look so expensive.
    — Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of shade
Noun
  • In the rape scene, the live action is intercut with flashes of staged broken glass against black and the words in Tessa’s own head.
    — Beandrea July, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Fiel, vice president of brand and creative at the AI-native startup Newton, loves reinventions of utilitarian clothing, favoring functional pieces in deep greens and blacks.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of black
Noun
  • The rise of pass-throughs Zidar and Zwick trace much of the dramatic rise of pass-through businesses back to the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The initial testing performed on the 10 towers last week found traces of living or dead bacteria.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of trace
Noun
  • Although the proffer glitch gave the defense what appeared to be a glimmer of hope, Long’s recording, too, was played for jurors.
    — John L. Smith, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Peppered amid the challenges for 2025 were glimmers of hope through successes like Weapons ($270 million globally on a $38 million budget), while modestly budgeted reboots Freakier Friday and Final Destination Bloodlines also turned profits.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of glimmer
Noun
  • During a fraught encounter between Hamlet and the ghost of his father, an actor freezes before exiting entirely.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Liam sweeps in like the ghost of Christmas Present and suddenly everyone — everyone being Noel — starts to wonder if this just might work after all.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of ghost
Noun
  • Database lookup triggers Agent C, which calls out to an external API and writes results to cloud storage.
    — Nicola Sfondrini, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The timing of such decisions has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the sport just seven weeks out from the beginning of the regular season, and coaches involved are either fuming or biting their lips until there’s more clarity.
    — CJ Moore, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of cloud
Verb
  • In the here and now, Kuss is still chasing a stage win at the ongoing Vuelta, a task made more difficult by his presence in the podium fight until midway through the second week.
    — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Five weeks ago, in a two-minute drill during practice, Mahomes scrambled on fourth down but couldn’t evade a 300-pound rookie defensive tackle chasing after him.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of chase
Verb
  • Orwell was exploring the roles that euphemism, tangled syntax, and dying metaphors can play in obscuring the true intentions of a totalitarian state.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Last week, OpenAI began rolling out its latest model, Astra, which performs better but obscures more of its internal processes.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of obscure

Browse Nearby Words

shading
shadow
shadowed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shadow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shadow. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of watershed

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All