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Glite Dictionary
shadow cabinet

shadow cabinet

1 6.7
A group of senior opposition politicians who would become government ministers if their party won power
  • noun
  • /ˈʃædəʊ ˈkæbɪnɪt/
  • Literature
translation icon : gabinete en la sombra
  • Several members of the shadow cabinet have proposed a new plan to address climate change.

Examples

  • They are the shadow cabinet of the Alands Republic.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Unlike a newly chosen prime minister of Britain, he has no previously selected, already functioning shadow cabinet, ready at a moment's notice to assume responsibility with total confidence in the permanent career services, with automatic support from the legislative branch, and with relatively few important positions to be filled.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The Chinese government virtually has a shadow cabinet in place, and increasingly important powers are going to Beijing's unofficial, but universally acknowledged, representative in Hong Kong, the director of the Xinhua News Agency.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The shadow cabinet will discuss future policies if the opposition wins the next election.

  • The leader of the shadow cabinet outlined their priorities in a press conference yesterday.

Synonyms

front bench
vsshadow cabinet
  • Jargon
1 6.5

Seats in parliament for government ministers or top opposition members

is the group of senior opposition politicians who would take ministerial roles

Surface Forms

shadow cabinet singular
shadow cabinets plural

Morphology

shadow + cabinet

The phrase pairs 'shadow' (here meaning an unofficial or counterpart entity) with 'cabinet' (group of ministers), so a learner can plausibly infer an alternative or mirror group of ministers — i.e. the opposition's equivalent. However, the political sense of 'shadow' and the institutional use in parliamentary systems are specialized and may not be known to an average B1 learner, so the meaning is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Shadow cabinet comes from the idea of a team that shadows the real cabinet, like a shadow following a person. They watch the government's ministers and are 'ready to take office', so the phrase means the group of opposition politicians prepared to become the government.