shadowy
shad·owy/ˈʃæd.oʊ.i/adjective
shadowy is spelled S-H-A-D-O-W-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables (shad·owy). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, shadowy means “In shadow; darkened by shadows” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shadowy?
| Letters | 7: S-H-A-D-O-W-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: shad·owy |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shadowy?
Shadowy appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shadowy?
- US /ˈʃæd.oʊ.i/
- UK /ˈʃæd.əʊ.i/
Shadowy has 2 syllables, split shad·owy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shadowy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shadowy
- shadowier comparative
- shadowiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shadowy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
In shadow; darkened by shadows.
He sat in a shadowy corner.
- 2
Dark, obscure.
He was a shadowy man who rarely spoke.
- 3
Vague, dim, unclear, faint.
- 4
datedrareIndulging in fancies; daydreaming.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shadowy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or pertaining to shadow:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shadowy come from?
From Middle English schadwy, schadowy, equivalent to shadow + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).