Definitions for shallow
ˈʃæl oʊshal·low

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. shoal, shallow(adj)

   a stretch of shallow water

2. shallow(adj)

   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"

3. shallow(adj)

   not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply

   "shallow breathing"; "a night of shallow fretful sleep"; "in a shallow trance"

4. shallow(verb)

   lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious

   "shallow people"; "his arguments seemed shallow and tedious"

5. shallow, shoal(verb)

   make shallow

   "The silt shallowed the canal"

6. shallow, shoal(verb)

   become shallow

   "the lake shallowed over time"

Wiktionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. shallow(Noun)

   A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.

   The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow.

   Etymology: Origin uncertain; apparently related to sceald.

2. shallow(Verb)

   To make or become less deep

   Etymology: Origin uncertain; apparently related to sceald.

3. shallow(Adjective)

   Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.

   Etymology: Origin uncertain; apparently related to sceald.

4. shallow(Adjective)

   Extending not far downward.

   The water is shallow here

   Etymology: Origin uncertain; apparently related to sceald.

5. shallow(Adjective)

   Concerned mainly with superficial matters.

   It was a glamorous but shallow lifestyle

   Etymology: Origin uncertain; apparently related to sceald.

6. shallow(Adjective)

   Lacking interest or substance.

   The acting is good, but the characters are shallow

   Etymology: Origin uncertain; apparently related to sceald.

Webster Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Shallow

   not deep; having little depth; shoal

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

2. Shallow

   not deep in tone

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

3. Shallow

   not intellectually deep; not profound; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing; ignorant; superficial; as, a shallow mind; shallow learning

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

4. Shallow(noun)

   a place in a body of water where the water is not deep; a shoal; a flat; a shelf

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

5. Shallow(noun)

   the rudd

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

6. Shallow(verb)

   to make shallow

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

7. Shallow(verb)

   to become shallow, as water

   Etymology: [OE. schalowe, probably originally, sloping or shelving; cf. Icel. skjlgr wry, squinting, AS. sceolh, D. & G. scheel, OHG. schelah. Cf. Shelve to slope, Shoal shallow.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Shallow

   shal′ō, n. a sandbank: a place over which the water is not deep: a shoal.—adj. not deep: not profound: not wise: trifling.—v.t. to make shallow.—v.i. to grow shallow.—adjs. Shall′ow-brained, -pā′ted, weak in intellect; Shall′ow-heart′ed, not capable of deep feelings.—adv. Shall′owly (Shak.), simply, foolishly.—n. Shall′owness. [Scand., Ice. skjálgr, wry; cf. Ger. scheel.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. shallow

   Song lyrics by shallow -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by shallow on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shallow' in Adjectives Frequency: #757

Anagrams for shallow »

1. hallows

How to pronounce shallow?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say shallow in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shallow in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shallow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of shallow in a Sentence

1. Henry David Thoreau, Walden:

   Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.

2. Gustavo Hernandez:

   A lot of companies have approached Pemex because we have knowledge of the shallow water basin with more than 40 years of exploration and 35 years of production.

3. Henry David Thoreau:

   Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink, I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. I would drink deeper; fish fill the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars. I cannot count one. I know not the first letter of the alphabet. I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.

4. Neil Roberts:

   Unless it is there would be no prospect of premiums rising, the shallow waters and numerous reefs in the Spratly island region means that commercial shipping is unlikely to be sailing within the territorial waters of any of the islands.

5. Ashley Dean Mair:

   Pool of Shallow Waters

Images & Illustrations of shallow

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