shadow

Examples

• All

• "In this environment, swindlers have emerged from the shadows to prey on people's fear and ignorance."

• Who knew what secrets might be waiting for them in the shadow of the Worldsend Mountains?

  Fiction book (1991)

• How long does it take for that shadow to go away?

• We need to bring our stories out of the shadows and listen to each other with compassion.

  Academic text (1999)

• The need for peace among nations, especially in the shadow of the threat of nuclear annihilation.

  Academic text (2008)

• Mexico's drug war is the great shadow hanging over the southern side of the border.

  Academic text (2011)

• There are implications for music education lurking in the shadows of nearly every proposal to reform education.

  Academic text (2015)

• Over all of this looms the shadow cast by the failure of Soviet perestroika.

  Academic text (1991)

• Under the previous regime, such institutions were a pale shadow of their prewar selves.

  Academic text (1991)

• Despite his success, Perrineau hovers in the shadow of his White compatriots on and offscreen.

Synonyms

T

trace

vsshadow

492 3.3

A small sign that something was there

is a present influence or feeling rather than only past evidence

C

cloud

vsshadow

176 6.1

A feeling of doubt or worry that harms someone's reputation

is a less obvious influence that quietly makes things seem worse

V

vestige

vsshadow

23 8.4

A small part that remains from something that once existed

is a present sign or influence, not necessarily a remnant of the past

T

tincture

vsshadow

1 7.7

A small amount of a color or feeling that is easy to miss

is a broader sign or influence rather than just a tiny hint

Antonyms

C

clarity

30 2.7

How easy it is to see through something like clean water

Idioms

I

in the shadow of

38 6.5

Close to a larger person or thing so you feel less important

B

beyond a shadow of a doubt

7 4.2

Completely certain with no doubt

C

to cast a shadow

4 6.2

Make a person, event, or situation seem less happy and less hopeful

L

to live in the shadow

2 8.0

To be less known or important because someone else is more famous

A

a shadow of its former self

• Informal

1 7.1

A person or thing that is much weaker and less impressive than before

A

afraid of one's own shadow

• Informal

1 8.4

Very easily frightened and nervous, often jumping at small noises

T

to take the shadow for the substance

• Archaic

9.9

To think an appearance or small sign is the real thing

S

shadow for the substance

• Literature

9.9

To mistake how something looks for how it really is

Compounds

S

shadow of doubt

• Informal

2 3.8

A small feeling that something might not be true

S

shadow play

1 7.4

A show that uses hand or puppet shadows on a screen to tell a story

S

shadow banking system

• Specialized

1 7.7

Financial companies that lend, borrow, or manage money without normal bank rules

S

shadow box

1 5.9

A shallow box with a clear front that shows and protects small items like jewelry

R

rain shadow

• Specialized

1 6.7

An area with little rain that lies behind mountains

S

shadow cabinet

• Literature

1 6.7

A group of senior opposition politicians who would become government ministers if their party won power

S

shadow show

7.7

A performance that uses figures and light to make moving shadows on a screen

S

soft shadow

3.8

A shadow with no sharp edges because the light spreads

How Noticeable

pall

8 8.0

shadow

228 5.8

trace

492 3.3

Surface Forms

Etymology