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shady - 4 dictionary results

shad⋅y

  [shey-dee]
Use shady in a Sentence
–adjective, shad⋅i⋅er, shad⋅i⋅est.
1. abounding in shade; shaded: shady paths.
2. giving shade: a shady tree.
3. shadowy; indistinct; spectral.
4. of dubious character; rather disreputable: shady dealings.
—Idiom
5. on the shady side of, Informal. beyond (the specified age); more than: on the shady side of 40.
Origin:
1570–80; shade + -y 1

Related forms:
shad⋅i⋅ly, adverb
shad⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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shad·y   (shā'dē)   
adj.   shad·i·er, shad·i·est
  1. Full of shade; shaded.
  2. Casting shade: a shady grove.
  3. Quiet, dark, or concealed; hidden.
  4. Of dubious character or honesty; questionable. See Synonyms at dark.
shad'i·ly adv., shad'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Shady

Shad"y\, a. [Compar. Shadier; superl. Shadiest.]

1. Abounding in shade or shades; overspread with shade; causing shade.

The shady trees cover him with their shadow. --Job. xl. 22.

And Amaryllis fills the shady groves. --Dryden.

2. Sheltered from the glare of light or sultry heat.

Cast it also that you may have rooms shady for summer and warm for winter. --Bacon.

3. Of or pertaining to shade or darkness; hence, unfit to be seen or known; equivocal; dubious or corrupt. [Colloq.] "A shady business." --London Sat. Rev.

Shady characters, disreputable, criminal. --London Spectator.

On the shady side of, on the thither side of; as, on the shady side of fifty; that is, more than fifty. [Colloq.]

To keep shady, to stay in concealment; also, to be reticent. [Slang]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : shady
Spanish: a la sombra,
German: schattig,
Japanese: 陰になった
More Translations »

shady 
"affording shade, 1579, from shade (q.v.). Meaning "disreputable" (1862) probably is from earlier university slang sense of "of questionable merit, unreliable" (1848).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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