Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Shallow

Shal′low

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Shallower
;
sup
erl.
Shallowest
.]
[OE.
schalowe
, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel.
skjālgr
wry, squinting, AS.
sceolh
, D. & G.
scheel
, OHG.
schelah
. Cf.
Shelve
to slope,
Shoal
shallow.]
1.
Not deep; having little depth; shoal.
Shallow brooks, and rivers wide.”
Milton.
2.
Not deep in tone.
[R.]
The sound perfecter and not so
shallow
and jarring.
Bacon.
3.
Not intellectually deep; not profound; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing; ignorant; superficial;
as, a
shallow
mind;
shallow
learning
.
The king was neither so
shallow
, nor so ill advertised, as not to perceive the intention of the French king.
Bacon.
Deep versed in books, and
shallow
in himself.
Milton.

Shal′low

,
Noun.
1.
A place in a body of water where the water is not deep; a shoal; a flat; a shelf.
A swift stream is not heard in the channel, but upon
shallows
of gravel.
Bacon.
Dashed on the
shallows
of the moving sand.
Dryden.
2.
(Zool.)
The rudd.
[Prov. Eng.]

Shal′low

,
Verb.
T.
To make shallow.
Sir T. Browne.

Shal′low

,
Verb.
I.
To become shallow, as water.

Webster 1828 Edition


Shallow

SHAL'LOW

,
Adj.
1. Not deep; having little depth; shoal; as shallow water; a shallow stream; a shallow brook.
2. Not deep; not entering far into the earth; as a shallow furrow; a shallow trench.
3. Not intellectually deep; not profound; not penetrating deeply into abstruse subjects; superficial; as a shallow mind or understanding; shallow skill.
Deep vers'd in books, and shallow in himself. Milton.

SHAL'LOW

,
Noun.
A shoal; a shelf; a flat; a sand-bank; any place where the water is not deep.
A swift stream is not heard in the channel, but upon shallows of gravel.

Definition 2024


shallow

shallow

English

Adjective

shallow (comparative shallower, superlative shallowest)

  1. Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.
    This crater is relatively shallow.
    Saute the onions in a shallow pan.
  2. Extending not far downward.
    The water is shallow here.
  3. Concerned mainly with superficial matters.
    It was a glamorous but shallow lifestyle.
  4. Lacking interest or substance.
    The acting is good, but the characters are shallow.
  5. Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.
    shallow learning
    • Francis Bacon
      The king was neither so shallow, nor so ill advertised, as not to perceive the intention of the French king.
  6. (obsolete) Not deep in tone.
    • Francis Bacon
      the sound perfecter and not so shallow and jarring
  7. (tennis) Not far forward, close to the net
    • 2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian:
      Rosol spurned the chance to finish off a shallow second serve by spooning into the net, and a wild forehand took the set to 5-4, with the native of Prerov required to hold his serve for victory.

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

shallow (plural shallows)

  1. A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.
    The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow.
    • Francis Bacon
      A swift stream is not heard in the channel, but upon shallows of gravel.
    • Dryden
      dashed on the shallows of the moving sand
  2. A fish, the rudd.

Usage notes

  • Usually used in the plural form.

Translations

See also

Verb

shallow (third-person singular simple present shallows, present participle shallowing, simple past and past participle shallowed)

  1. To make or become less deep
    • 2009 February 6, Andrew Z. Krug et al., “Signature of the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction in the Modern Biota”, in Science, volume 323, number 5915, DOI:10.1126/science.1164905, pages 767-771:
      The shallowing of Cenozoic age-frequency curves from tropics to poles thus appears to reflect the decreasing probability for genera to reach and remain established in progressively higher latitudes ( 9 ).

Anagrams