SHALLOW(S) Synonyms: 12 Similar and Opposite Words

shallows

noun

plural of shallow

as in shoal

a place where a body of water (as a sea or river) is shallow we waded through the shallows looking for tadpoles

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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 shallows Some rolled and splashed in the shallows, regulating their body temperature after lying in the Arctic sun, others lay motionless, deep in sleep. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 Take things up a notch and reserve in advance for Dinner on the Sandbar, a private five-course dinner in the shallows surrounding Little Palm Island. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026 Parents lingered at the waterline, kids darted in and out of the shallows, more confident swimmers fanned out into deeper water and others settled up the sand with a beach read in hand. — Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 6 Aug. 2026 At Brooks Falls, visitors watch from elevated platforms as the bruins barrel through the shallows in pursuit of silvery fish or stake out prime positions on the lip of the falls, waiting for salmon to vault from the water into their gaping maws. — Bailey Berg, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026 Azzuro said the shallows of the eastern Mediterranean have lost 93% of their mollusk population. — ABC News, 30 July 2026 The lighthouse, once a prime beacon for ships transporting goods like iron ore, fishing and lumber on a coastal stretch with dangerous rocks and shallows, per Visit Escanaba and the Forest Service. — Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 27 July 2026 Barring bedding season in the early summer when large fish guard nests in the shallows, bigger fish will hang out in deeper, cooler water most of the time. — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026 Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are Instagram classics, and the shallows off Maho Bay are known for sea turtles. — David Dickstein, Oc Register, 17 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shallows

Noun

In one of the latest incidents, the Philippine military in July accused China's coast guard of injuring a Filipino sailor at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026
Stretching across more than 139,000 hectares, Hanifaru Bay is home to coral reefs with colorful shoals of fish, turtles, manta rays, and whale sharks.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of shoal

Noun

People might think a little harder about whether to buy a home if mortgage rates are higher — or whether to take that business loan if banks are charging more.

— Scott Horsley, NPR, 19 Sep. 2026
The files didn’t contain bank-account details, and, even if Qatar had ordered the transfers, there was no evidence that Netanyahu had actually received the money.

— Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of bank

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shallowness

shallows

sham

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“Shallows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shallows. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shallows

noun

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