What does "shallow" mean?
A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.
Shallow
/ˈʃæl.oʊ/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.
- Grammar: shallow is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: airy, amateur, amateurish, ankle deep.
- Useful contrasts: deep, long, tall.
- Usage evidence: I don't like his shallow personality.
How to use "shallow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shallow" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shallow" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shallow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shallow" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shallow" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "airy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shallow", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.
"The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow."
- 2 a stretch of shallow water wordnet
- 3 A fish, the rudd.
- 4 A costermonger's barrow. historical
"You might have gone there quite as easily, and enjoyed yourself much more, had your mode of conveyance been the railway, or a hansom, or even a costermonger's shallow."
Verb
- 1 To make or become less deep. ambitransitive
"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 )."
- 2 become shallow wordnet
- 3 make shallow wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.
"This crater is relatively shallow."
- 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; flat; one-dimensional.
"The acting is good, but the characters are shallow."
- 5 Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.
"shallow learning"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Not deep in tone. obsolete
"the sound perfecter and not so shallow and jarring"
- 7 Not far forward, close to the net.
"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."
- 8 Not steep; close to horizontal.
"a shallow climb"
Adjective
- 1 lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center wordnet
- 2 not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply wordnet
- 3 lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I don't like his shallow personality."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shallow"?
Common synonyms include: airy, amateur, amateurish, ankle deep, ankle-deep, asinine.
How do you use "shallow" in a sentence?
I don't like his shallow personality.
How do you pronounce "shallow"?
Pronounced /ˈʃæl.oʊ/.
Etymology
From Middle English schalowe (“not deep, shallow”); apparently related to Middle English schalde, schold, scheld, schealde (“shallow”), from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), from Proto-Germanic *skal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, dry out”). Related to Low German Scholl (“shallow water”). See also shoal.