adjective
-
full of shadows; dark; shady
-
resembling a shadow in faintness; vague
-
illusory or imaginary
-
mysterious or secretive
a shadowy underworld figure
Other Word Forms
- shadowiness noun
Etymology
Origin of shadowy
First recorded in 1325–75, shadowy is from the Middle English word shadewy. See shadow, -y 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These days stars are more likely to reveal their own secrets on social media than have them revealed by a shadowy investigator.
From BBC
Information Minister Zhemu Soda said the Zimbabweans had been lured by shadowy agencies promising lucrative jobs abroad using "social media platforms as their primary hunting ground".
From BBC
We turned into a driveway beneath shadowy trees.
From Literature
But he was already way ahead of us, and Marlene was by now no more than a shadowy shape moving through the trees, and then I lost sight of her altogether.
From Literature
A dim light had to be coming from·somewhere, because he made out a vast, shadowy cavern.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
