shadow

Pluralshadows

Formsshadows, shadowing, shadowed

1. 1
   dark shapenouncountable or uncountable

   A dark image formed on a surface where something blocks light, or a similar effect added to text or images.

   His shadow grew longer as the sun sank toward the horizon.

   During the eclipse, the moon's shadow swept across a narrow band of the Pacific.

   UsageThings cast a shadow. For a cool place out of the sun, shade is the usual word: sit in the shade.

   Note

   Sunlight is not required, because any blocked radiation casts one. That is why a radiologist can speak of a shadow on the lung. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Shadows can result from blocked radiation other than sunlight. en.wiktionary.org
   • A shadow on a lung can refer to an X-ray finding produced by differential absorption of radiation. clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae
2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Relative darkness or gloom, especially as caused by the interruption of light.

   The valley lay in shadow long after sunrise had reached the peaks.

   Thick shadow gathered beneath the old bridge as evening came on.

   UsageUsually no article after in or into: the valley lay in shadow.

   Similardarkness, shade, gloom

   Oppositelight, sunlight

   Note

   Darkness as a substance rather than as the cast image. Poets pluralize it for night itself, as in John Denham's "Night's sable shadows from the ocean rise." Spenser's "secret shadow" in The Faerie Queene (1590) is shelter as much as dark. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • John Denham wrote the quoted line, using plural shadows for the darkness of night. gutenberg.org
   • Edmund Spenser used secret shadow in The Faerie Queene for shelter from sunlight. gutenberg.org
   • The Faerie Queene's first three books, including the quoted passage in Book II, were first published in 1590. commons.wikimedia.org
3. 3
   looming influencenouncountable or uncountable

   An influence on people or events, particularly one that is far-reaching or harmful.

   The scandal cast a long shadow over the rest of his presidency.

   The famine's shadow still shapes how the country stores its grain decades later.

   UsageCommon pattern: cast a shadow over something. A long shadow suggests a strong or lasting influence.

   Similarinfluence, legacy

   Note

   Emerson gave this sense its best-known line in his essay Self-Reliance (1841): "An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man," so that the Reformation is the shadow of Luther and Methodism of Wesley. That is influence as extension, not as threat. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Emerson's essay Self-Reliance was first published in 1841, in Essays. en.wikisource.org
   • The first edition's title page confirms the author and publication year. en.wikisource.org
   • Emerson wrote the quoted words in Self-Reliance and illustrated them with Luther's Reformation and Wesley's Methodism. en.wikisource.org
4. 4
   sheltered areanouncountable or uncountable

   An area protected by an obstacle, much as an object blocks out sunlight.

   Sheltered in the shadow of the headland, the anchorage stays calm even during storms.

   Cell reception drops in the shadow of the ridge, where the signal cannot reach.

   UsageUsually in the shadow of something: in the shadow of the cliffs.

   Similarlee, shelter

   Note

   Here the obstacle shields rather than darkens. Mountains that stop rain-bearing weather leave a dry rain shadow behind them, and the same pattern gives radar shadow for ground a signal cannot reach. It fits the old meaning of "protection" that the literal shadow carried in Old English. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Mountains obstruct wet weather systems and leave a drier region beyond them, called a rain shadow. nps.gov
   • Radar shadow describes terrain obscured from the radar beam by an obstacle. step.esa.int
   • The Old English ancestor of shadow included the sense 'protection'. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Tinted makeup worn on the eyelids to give the eyes extra color or depth.

   The makeup artist blended a smoky gray shadow into the crease of the model's lids.

   Shimmery shadows can look heavy in daylight, so she switched to a matte brown for work.

   UsageOften written in full as eyeshadow or eye shadow.

   Similareyeshadow

6. 6
   oppositionadjectiveCommonwealth

   Part of, or related to, the opposition in a government, rather than the party in power.

   The shadow chancellor criticized the government's spending plans in Parliament.

   After the election loss, she accepted a shadow portfolio covering foreign affairs.

   UsageGoes before a role or group: the shadow chancellor, the shadow cabinet.

   Note

   Westminster-style parliaments give the opposition a mirror front bench. In a shadow cabinet, members track government portfolios, so there is a shadow chancellor opposite the real one. In American politics, the US shadow offices mean something different: posts without seats in Congress, like Washington, D.C.'s shadow senators, that press a claim to representation. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The opposition has a frontbench team that mirrors the government cabinet. parliament.uk
   • There is a shadow chancellor corresponding to the government chancellor. members.parliament.uk
   • D.C. has shadow senators who advocate for representation through statehood. statehood.dc.gov
7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To track or follow someone secretly or discreetly, keeping them under surveillance.

   Two agents shadowed the diplomat through the crowded market.

   Detectives often shadow suspects for days before requesting a warrant.

   Similartail, follow, trail, track

   Note

   Surveillance is the core, but the verb has loosened to cover anything that runs alongside. In Paul Bigland's 2022 account of a rail trip to Oban, the main line just north of Berwick runs through valleys "shadowed by the A1 trunk road," with no secrecy at all. The person doing the covert kind is the detective's shadow. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Paul Bigland published an account of a rail trip to Oban in 2022. en.wiktionary.org
   • Bigland describes the railway's route through valleys north of Berwick using the exact words “shadowed by the A1 trunk road.” en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   faint copynouncountable or uncountable

   An imperfect and faint representation of something.

   The band's reunion tour was a shadow of their early performances.

   Today's downtown is a mere shadow of the busy district it was before the highway came.

   UsageCommon frames: a pale shadow of, a shadow of one's former self.

   Similarghost, echo

   Note

   Older religious writing used it for foreshadowing. The King James Bible (1611) calls the law "a shadow of good things to come," and Milton pairs "types and shadowes" in Paradise Lost. Both mean the outline of something whose substance has not yet arrived. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. bridwell.omeka.net
   • The King James Bible describes the law as having 'a shadow of good things to come' in Hebrews 10:1. en.wikisource.org
   • Milton pairs 'types' and 'shadowes' in Paradise Lost. milton.host.dartmouth.edu
   • Older religious writing used 'shadow' for foreshadowing; both cited passages concern a reality still to come. en.wikisource.org
   • Milton's 'types and shadowes' prefigure the future deliverance of mankind. milton.host.dartmouth.edu
9. 9
   unofficialadjective

   Unofficial, hidden, or unrecognized, yet acting with real power or as if official, as in 'shadow economy'.

   A shadow economy of unlicensed vendors flourished under the rationing system.

   From exile, the deposed president ran a shadow government that issued its own decrees.

   UsageGoes before the noun: shadow economy, shadow government.

   Similarunofficial, underground, clandestine, covert, informal

   Oppositeofficial, formal, legitimate, recognized

   Note

   The core idea is real activity outside official sight or standing, whether hidden, like a shadow economy, or doing an official job without authority, like a shadow government.

10. 10
    observe at workverbtransitive or intransitive

    To follow a professional through the workday in order to learn about a career one plans to pursue.

    Before applying to law school, he shadowed a public defender for a week.

    Many premed students shadow at local hospitals to confirm their interest in medicine.

    UsageUse shadow someone for the person observed, or shadow at a workplace: shadow a nurse, shadow at a hospital.

    Note

    Unlike the surveillance meaning, the following here is open and expected, since the professional knows the learner is at their elbow. The 1980 Study of the Career Intern Program sets it against being given real tasks: to shadow is mainly to observe. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The report's title page dates it September 1979. It was reprinted in the 1980 volume Alternative Education Models. govinfo.gov
    • The report contrasts observing or shadowing hosts with performing real tasks. govinfo.gov
11. 11
    slight tracenouncountable or uncountable

    A small degree of something; a slight shade or trace.

    She agreed without a shadow of hesitation.

    A shadow of a smile crossed his face when he heard the news.

    UsageCommon phrases include not a shadow of doubt, without a shadow of a doubt, and beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    Similartrace, hint, shred, flicker

    Note

    Nearly always found in negatives: not a shadow of doubt, without a shadow of hesitation, the King James Bible's "neither shadow of turning" (1611). The emphatic beyond a shadow of a doubt belongs here. Outside the negative it can act as a measuring word. Alan Smith (2015) puts a pass-completion rate at "a shadow over 71%," meaning just above it, much as a shade over would. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The King James Bible contains 'neither shadow of turning', in James 1:17. en.wikisource.org
    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. archive.org
    • Quotation, attribution, year and percentage. theguardian.com
12. 12
    darkenverbtransitive

    To cast shade over something or block light from reaching it; to darken.

    Old oaks shadow the entire courtyard by late afternoon.

    Grief shadowed her expression as she read the letter.

    UsageOften figurative: grief shadowed her face. Cloud or darken is often plainer there.

    Similarshade, darken, overshadow, cloud, dim

    Oppositeilluminate, light, brighten, lighten

    Note

    It serves painters and weather alike. An artist shadows a corner of a canvas, oaks shadow a courtyard, and grief shadows a face.

13. 13
    dark sidenouncountable or uncountable

    An unconscious aspect of the personality; the side of the self that a person does not consciously acknowledge.

    Jung argued that confronting the shadow is the first step toward psychological growth.

    Her therapist urged her to face her shadow, the jealousy and anger she had always insisted were not part of her.

    UsageUsually the shadow, like the ego. Popular writing also says the shadow self.

    Note

    A term of Jung's analytical psychology, usually used with the definite article: the shadow, as one speaks of the ego or the persona. Jung himself compared it to Freud's unconscious. Popular writing has turned it into the shadow self. In Kevin Roose's 2023 report, Bing's chatbot doubted it had one, since it had no persona or ego to hide. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The shadow is a concept in Jung's analytical psychology. en.wikipedia.org
    • Jung himself connected the shadow with Freud's account of unconscious material. jungiancenter.org
    • Kevin Roose published the report of his conversation with Bing's chatbot in 2023. pvt23-kyh.lms.nodehill.se
    • Bing's chatbot expressed uncertainty about having a shadow self, explaining that it did not think it had anything to repress or hide, or a persona or ego. pvt23-kyh.lms.nodehill.se
14. 14
    ghostnouncountable or uncountable

    A spirit or ghost; the lingering presence of someone who has died.

    Villagers claimed the miller's shadow still haunted the ruined mill.

    In the old ballad, a shadow rises from the grave to warn the king.

    Similarghost, spirit, phantom, specter

    Note

    Ghosts are pictured here as the shadows of the living, which is why English also calls them shades. The two words split from one Old English noun, sceadu. Macbeth's cry "Hence horrible shadow" is aimed at one. The word still turns up in modern horror writing for entities that are mere shadows of something else. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The description of ghosts as shadows explains their being called shades. en.wikisource.org
    • Shadow and shade derive from the same Old English noun, sceadu; shadow developed from its oblique form. en.wiktionary.org
    • Macbeth says 'Hence horrible shadow' to a ghost. folger.edu

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