as in dark
a time or place of little or no light
lurking in the shadows
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in chases
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 blurs
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
thickening clouds shadowed the countryside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shadows
Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 7 Jan. 2026
In it, prisoners trapped inside a cave perceive the world only through shadows cast by outside objects.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 7 Jan. 2026
In a town plagued with sudden deaths and missing persons, a troubled eight-year-old girl befriends a boy that lives in the shadows, and her new stepmom learns why things that live in the dark don’t want to be seen.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2026
The show had shadows everywhere.
—Alex Shoemaker, Parents, 4 Jan. 2026
As the high school boys basketball season nears the midpoint, junior center Jeffrey Hassan and undefeated Kaneland are emerging from the Rodney Dangerfield-like shadows.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Videos filmed by Caracas residents showed parts of the city in the dark and the shadows of what appeared to be helicopters and airplanes firing at targets on the ground.
—Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
Nearly 10,000 years ago, at the base of a mountain in Africa, people’s shadows stretch up the wall of a natural overhang of stone.
—Elizabeth Sawchuk, The Conversation, 1 Jan. 2026
Not as shadows lurking in code prompt chains.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
However, Quinyon Mitchell has taken a step up this season and shadows the NFL’s best receiver.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
If Gonzalez shadows Panthers rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina’s leading receiver, their battle could swing critical moments and perhaps the game.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
The movie’s ensemble also includes Alicia Vikander, Jeffrey Wright, and Tom Sturridge, but this is said to be Dano’s show, with Law’s Putin a malevolent presence who shadows his every move.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
The changes also allowed Mingo to step out of the shadows cast by André DeShields and Richard Pryor, who played the Wiz in the original Broadway show and 1978 movie adaptation, and make the role his own.
—Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 7 Jan. 2026
In it, prisoners trapped inside a cave perceive the world only through shadows cast by outside objects.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 7 Jan. 2026
In a town plagued with sudden deaths and missing persons, a troubled eight-year-old girl befriends a boy that lives in the shadows, and her new stepmom learns why things that live in the dark don’t want to be seen.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2026
The show had shadows everywhere.
—Alex Shoemaker, Parents, 4 Jan. 2026
As the high school boys basketball season nears the midpoint, junior center Jeffrey Hassan and undefeated Kaneland are emerging from the Rodney Dangerfield-like shadows.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Videos filmed by Caracas residents showed parts of the city in the dark and the shadows of what appeared to be helicopters and airplanes firing at targets on the ground.
—Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
Nearly 10,000 years ago, at the base of a mountain in Africa, people’s shadows stretch up the wall of a natural overhang of stone.
—Elizabeth Sawchuk, The Conversation, 1 Jan. 2026
Not as shadows lurking in code prompt chains.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
Through it all, Kate and William balanced expanding royal duties with school runs and family life, even as illness still shadows the monarchy.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
However, Quinyon Mitchell has taken a step up this season and shadows the NFL’s best receiver.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
If Gonzalez shadows Panthers rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina’s leading receiver, their battle could swing critical moments and perhaps the game.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
The movie’s ensemble also includes Alicia Vikander, Jeffrey Wright, and Tom Sturridge, but this is said to be Dano’s show, with Law’s Putin a malevolent presence who shadows his every move.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shadows
Noun
-
Columbus Police The footage shows the person in a dark, hooded top and lighter color pants, walking with their hands in their pockets.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Sunny skies by day often bring clear nightscapes after dark, so soak up the starry splendor on the Tucson Astro Trail, which links 12 area observatories and dark-sky parks.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Outside,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
One chases agility and research breakthroughs, the other aims for affordability and everyday utility.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The Native American artist Chutto (Mato Wayuhi) throws a rock through the window and, when Lee chases him down, lays into Lee for getting his grandfather, Arthur (the late Graham Greene), killed.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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What starts as a cathartic process spirals out-of-control, as the line between justice and madness blurs.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Best Hotels & Resorts The Calile Hotel Designed by acclaimed architects Richards and Spence, The Calile’s 175 rooms are framed by subtropical landscaping that blurs the line between indoors and out.—
Alli Forde,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Tall grass also shades weed seedlings, preventing them from expanding and overtaking desirable grass plants, better than short turf.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The jersey has Sacramento emblazoned across the chest with a new palette of deep ink purple and bright violet accents, shades the team has never used before.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The ash of the cigarette glows in the darkness of the truck.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
But even still, the doctors are grappling with the impacts of the conflict, mainly through power outages that leave their hospital in darkness.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
More than 1,000 flights were called off nationwide Friday — five times the number canceled Thursday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Moving from Chicago blues to Phil Spector’s early-1960s confections to the British Invasion, the birth of punk, metal, grunge, and hip-hop, the book tracks the seven-decade story of rock and roll as if drummers were the main characters.—
John Lingan,
Rolling Stone,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In this way, Berlin and New York were linked as though through an imaginary tunnel that gave passage to the hidden or half-glimpsed sexualities that heteropatriarchy silences and obscures.—
Javier Montes,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
-
This deliberately obscures the possibility that some victims were lactating female bears — and for every dead mother, there was probably at least one cub in danger of dying from starvation.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined in a federal whistleblower investigation that Balkan Express LLC violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which protects commercial motor vehicle safety complaints, according to the release.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Regular sweeping protects floors by removing gritty debris that can scratch and damage finishes.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shadows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shadows. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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