shadow

UK /ˈʃædəʊ̯/US /ˈʃædoʊ̯/

noun 15
verb 8
adjective 4
forms 7
phrases 4

noun15

•
a dark shape on a surface, made by something that is in the way of the light
- My shadow lengthened as the sun began to set.
- The X-ray showed a shadow on his lung.
•
Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity.
- I immediately jumped into shadow as I saw them approach.
•
An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one.
- Men see the institution and worship it. It is only the lengthened shadow of one man.[…]The Reformation is the shadow of Luther: Quakerism of Fox: Methodism of Wesley: Abolition of Clarkson. — 1844
•
(figurative) That which looms as though a shadow.
- I lived in her shadow my whole life.
•
An imperfect and faint representation.
- He came back from war the shadow of a man.
- The neopagan ritual was only a pale shadow of the ones the Greeks held thousands of years ago.
(UK) A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer.
•
One who secretly or furtively follows another.
- The constable was promoted to working as a shadow for the Royals.
An inseparable companion.
•
A small degree; a shade.
- He did not give even a shadow of respect to the professor.
- I don't have a shadow of doubt in my mind that my plan will succeed.
•
An area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight).
- The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them.
A spirit; a ghost; a shade.
•
An unconscious aspect of the personality.
- In a paper he wrote in 1939, Jung compared the shadow to Freud's concept of the unconscious. — 1991
A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc.
•
(no longer used) An uninvited guest accompanying one who was invited.
- I must not haue my boord pester'd with shadowes, / That under other mens protection breake in / Without invitement. — 1624
•
(literary, no longer used) A reflected image, as in a mirror or in water.
- Some there be that shadowes kisse, / Such haue but a shadowes blisse. — 1596

verb8

•
To shade, cloud, or darken.
- The artist chose to shadow this corner of the painting.
To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance.
•
To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up.
- In most cases, interns have mainly observed, or “shadowed,” their Hands-On hosts, but some interns have been given real tasks to perform, […] — 1980
•
To block light or radio transmission from.
- Looks like that cloud's going to shadow us.
To hide; to conceal.
•
To represent faintly and imperfectly.
- Ah, ye admonitions and warnings! why stay ye not when ye come? But rather are ye predictions than warnings, ye shadows! — 1851
•
To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first.
- In this snippet, inside the for loop the a and b variables shadow variables from the outer scope, and while legal, this is almost certainly a programming error. — 2012
To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM).

adjective4

•
Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were.
- The human resources department has a shadow information technology group without headquarters knowledge.
•
(US) Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized.
- The shadow cabinet cannot agree on the terms of the agreement due immediately after they are sworn in.
- The insurgents’ shadow government is being crippled by the federal military strikes.
(Commonwealth) Part of, or related to, the opposition in government.
•
Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized.
- The director has been giving shadow leadership to the other group's project to ensure its success.
- The illuminati shadow group has been pulling strings from behind the scenes.

forms

shadowed · shadowing · shadoweth · shadows · shadowest · more shadow · most shadow

Phrases with shadow