shadowy

adjective

ˈsha-dō-ē How to pronounce shadowy (audio)
Definition of shadowynext
1
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly the shadowy area between tough interrogation and torture

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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

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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 Bishop has repeatedly leaned into this history, conflating his situation with those of vaunted Civil Rights leaders, and blaming criticism or law enforcement on shadowy forces colluding to silence him. — David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025 Pro-transparency efforts have begun illuminating previously shadowy aspects of judicial decisionmaking. — Peter Martin, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025 Decades before the memes and punchlines, the Broward native spawned a fictional franchise populated by preposterous oddballs, bottom-feeders and other shadowy denizens of the Sunshine State. — Mark Gauert, Sun Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2025 The deal is now coming back to haunt them, as both the FBI and reporters at the Wall Street Journal narrow in on Ratliff's previous shadowy practices. — Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shadowy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shadowy
  1. vague
  2. shady
  3. faint
  4. hazy
Adjective
  • Courtenay Brown Mar 6, 2025 - Business Trump stares down early economic potholes Buy your local economist a drink: The economic backdrop is more chaotic and uncertain than it's been in years — a result of fast-moving and sometimes vague Trump policy.
    — Axios, Axios, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Having lost an extra 30 minutes in the meeting above, another manager speeds through a document review, providing only vague feedback to her direct report.
    — Shani Harmon, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of vague
Adjective
  • To his supporters, Trump is taking justifiable action over past shady behavior.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Desperate to make clear his intense dissatisfaction with how Beck’s operation is being run, McCabe — aka Xavier Quinn, a very big (and slightly amnesic) bad from Reacher’s past — had Paulie fetch Beck’s son Richard, who’d already lost an ear to his father’s shady alliances.
    — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of shady
Adjective
  • My duties typically involved being sent to the nearby New York Public Library to hunt down some faint memory scratching at Carter’s brain.
    — Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Most of the files are scans of documents, and some are blurred or have become faint or difficult to read in the decades since Kennedy's assassination.
    — Joel Shannon, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of faint
Adjective
  • Thin lines and hazy glowing colors make the towering, randomized geometric structures look like something from a French comic book.
    — PCMAG, PCMAG, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Recall what the natural 2024 total solar eclipse looked like: a hazy white halo around a dark circle.
    — Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
Definition of hazy

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Cite this Entry

“Shadowy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shadowy. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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