shallow
shallows; shallower; shallowest; shallowing; shallowed
The adjective shallow can describe things that aren't very deep, like a shallow puddle, or people who don't have much emotional or intellectual depth, like shallow people who judge others on their looks and how much money they have.
Shallow likely comes from the Old English word sceald, which means "shoal," the water near a shoreline. So, shallow describes something that is close to the surface — like the shallow roots of a newly-planted tree or a person whose interest in someone or something isn't very deep. For instance, a shallow person might go to the opening of a new art exhibition not so much to see the artworks as meet the wealthy people on the museum's board of trustees.
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lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center“shallow water”“a shallow dish”“a shallow cut”“a shallow closet”“established a shallow beachhead”“hit the ball to shallow left field”
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Synonyms:
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ankle-deep, knee-deep
coming only to the ankle or knee
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fordable
shallow enough to be crossed by walking or riding on an animal or in a vehicle
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neritic
relating to the region of shallow water adjoining the seacoast
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reefy, shelfy, shelvy, shoaly
full of submerged reefs or sandbanks or shoals
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Antonyms:
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deep
having great spatial extension or penetration downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or laterally or outward from a center; sometimes used in combination
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abysmal, abyssal, unfathomable
resembling an abyss in depth; so deep as to be unmeasurable
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bottomless
extremely deep
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deep-water
of or carried on in waters of great depth
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profound, unfathomed, unplumbed, unsounded
situated at or extending to great depth; too deep to have been sounded or plumbed
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walk-in
(of e.g. closets or refrigerators) extending very far enough back to allow a person to enter
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unfathomable
of depth; not capable of being sounded or measured
- show more antonyms...
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ankle-deep, knee-deep
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lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious“shallow people”“his arguments seemed shallow and tedious”
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Synonyms:
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superficial
concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually
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superficial
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not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply“shallow breathing”“a night of shallow fretful sleep”“in a shallow trance”
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a stretch of shallow water
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synonyms:
shoal
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type of:
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body of water, water
the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)
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body of water, water
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make shallow
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become shallow
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