1
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly
the shadowy area between tough interrogation and torture
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shady
protected from the sun's rays
a shadowy lane that is a mosaic of colors during the autumn foliage season
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 shadowy
Sometimes his quest for the truth takes the shape of a prototypical thriller—rendezvous at dive bars, threats issued by shadowy goons in parking lots.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Around the midpoint of the first novel, after losing in a fight to one of Dalton’s good guys, Tommy flees town, remaining a shadowy half-presence for the rest of the book.
—Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
The K-pop sensation dropped a cryptic teaser on social media hinting at an upcoming surprise single, featuring a shadowy silhouette that suggests the track will be a duet.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2025
This grotesque miscarriage of justice is almost solely responsible for the influence that billionaires and shadowy Super PACs have exerted on the last three presidential elections, turning our politics into a plaything for the wealthiest Americans.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shadowy
Judy Berman, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Around the midpoint of the first novel, after losing in a fight to one of Dalton’s good guys, Tommy flees town, remaining a shadowy half-presence for the rest of the book.
—Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
The K-pop sensation dropped a cryptic teaser on social media hinting at an upcoming surprise single, featuring a shadowy silhouette that suggests the track will be a duet.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2025
This grotesque miscarriage of justice is almost solely responsible for the influence that billionaires and shadowy Super PACs have exerted on the last three presidential elections, turning our politics into a plaything for the wealthiest Americans.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shadowy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shadowy
Adjective
-
And not just vague signs, actual amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the same hallmarks seen in human patients.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
14 Oct. 2025
-
A lot of people bounce through the system because these symptoms are so vague.—
Katherine Fung,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This shady ramble follows a beautiful stream to a gushing spring.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
With the story transposed to a tough sprawling prison in Marseille, one of France’s most multicultural cities, the protagonist is now a young African immigrant, serving time for drug smuggling, who is offered the protection of a powerful and shady French-Algerian businessman.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
His nephew said that, for decades, his grandparents had kept alive a faint hope that maybe their hero son had just been captured and would one day come gamboling through the front door to the family’s Brookside home.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
10 Oct. 2025
-
From this distance, Swift detected the faint ultraviolet glow of hydroxyl (OH), the product of water molecules broken apart by sunlight, the study reports.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Place the trap in a shaded, quiet corner of your yard or porch.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Each of its 18, double-story villas has a private pool, a shaded courtyard, and a veranda that looks out across the waterways into the dense teak forest.—
Marion Miller,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Mifsuds have invited the community to become a part of the menu curation process, by welcoming name suggestions for Six Spoke’s latest brews, like the Vernor Hazeway, a hazy IPA.—
Lyndsay C. Green,
Freep.com,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The series has a hazy, dreamlike quality in which narrative logic bends but emotional coherence holds.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shadowy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shadowy. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share