1
as in shaded
protected from the sun's rays
a lovely shady spot in the park that was pleasantly cool
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceptive
given to or marked by cheating and deception
a shady business deal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in questionable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged
cited some shady statistics to back up his argument
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in shifty
given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions
shady characters hanging out in the park after nightfall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in notorious
not respectable
a courtesan who lived on the shady fringe of society
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 shady
This shady ramble follows a beautiful stream to a gushing spring.
—
Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025
The story is wall-to-wall clichés, with the playable bits serving as flashbacks to catch audiences up to the present, where the Marines are interrogating a shady government official about how the world went FUBAR.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
Delilah was particularly shady.
—Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
Even worse, locating garlic in shady areas causes plant stress and makes your garlic more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shady
Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025
The story is wall-to-wall clichés, with the playable bits serving as flashbacks to catch audiences up to the present, where the Marines are interrogating a shady government official about how the world went FUBAR.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
Delilah was particularly shady.
—Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
Even worse, locating garlic in shady areas causes plant stress and makes your garlic more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shady
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shady
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
-
Dealers and lenders have long engaged in deceptive and predatory practices that jack up prices for car buyers in order to line their pockets.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
-
This looks like an attempt to clean up their devastated public image following the Federal Trade Commission’s strong BOTS Act and deceptive practices case against them.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Adding to the lore, Springer was hit by a pitch in his right knee late during Game 5 in Seattle, a Mariners victory that put them up 3-2 and was questionable for the rest of the series.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
These are winnable games if everyone executes on the Carolina side, but Young being questionable for both (potentially) makes the outlook kind of up in the air.—
Mike Kaye
October 21,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Who would have expected that Dart, a shifty runner who’d totaled 109 yards rushing in two prior starts, would juke out All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun for a 20-yard touchdown on the opening drive?—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Why else would Lee tell someone as shifty as Ray so much about what’s going on?—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
She was joined by her older sister, Bennett, 2, who is notorious for her antics around the Kelce home.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
-
The 'Teflon Don' and the Gambino 'Crime Family' The Gambinos and their onetime leader John Gotti – aka the Dapper Don and the Teflon Don – are perhaps the most notorious of the five New York crime families and the one most closely mimicked by a slew of Hollywood TV shows and movies.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Neutral, consistent light beats filtered, shadowy shots every time.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
-
This show explores the titular shadowy organization, featured in both existing shows and many of Rice’s books, that tracks and controls vampires, witches, and other supernatural creatures around the world.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Jason Clarke is a force as Alex, whose booming charm hides fraudulent business dealings and a growing opioid addiction, while Arquette is Emmy-worthy as the long-suffering but demanding Maggie.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The analyst added that the fraudulent nature of the borrowers hints at a unique situation rather than an underlying systematic issue.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Nothing can be done, at this point, about the dubious premise that mainstream Jews and gentiles in 2020s Los Angeles occupy separate social worlds.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Trump’s leniency toward dubious white-collar figures also extends well beyond the crypto realm.—
Evan Hughes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shady.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shady. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share