shade

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: shadinessshadowinesstinttincturetonenuancenicetysubtletyrefinementtadghostspook

WordNet 3.0

Noun (8)

  1. relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body“it is much cooler in the shade”“there's too much shadiness to take good photographs”Synonyms: shadinessshadowiness
  2. a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color“after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted”Synonyms: tinttincturetone
  3. protective covering that protects something from direct sunlight“they used umbrellas as shades”“as the sun moved he readjusted the shade”
  4. a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude“without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor”“don't argue about shades of meaning”Synonyms: nuancenicetysubtletyrefinement
  5. a position of relative inferiority“an achievement that puts everything else in the shade”“his brother's success left him in the shade”
  6. a slight amount or degree of difference“a tad too expensive”“not a tad of difference”“the new model is a shade better than the old one”Synonyms: tad
  7. a mental representation of some haunting experience“he looked like he had seen a ghost”“it aroused specters from his past”Synonyms: ghostspookwraithspecterspectre
  8. a representation of the effect of shadows in a picture or drawing (as by shading or darker pigment)

Verb (5)

  1. cast a shadow overSynonyms: shadowshade off
  2. represent the effect of shade or shadow onSynonyms: fill in
  3. protect from light, heat, or view“Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight”
  4. vary slightly“shade the meaning”
  5. pass from one quality such as color to another by a slight degree“the butterfly wings shade to yellow”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Shade \Shade\ (sh[=a]d), n. [OE. shade, shadewe, schadewe, AS. sceadu, scead; akin to OS. skado, D. schaduw, OHG. scato, (gen. scatewes), G. schatten, Goth. skadus, Ir. & Gael. sgath, and probably to Gr. sko`tos darkness. [root]162. Cf. Shadow, Shed a hat.]

1.Comparative obscurity owing to interception or interruption of the rays of light; partial darkness caused by the intervention of something between the space contemplated and the source of light. [1913 Webster]

Note: Shade differs from shadow as it implies no particular form or definite limit; whereas a shadow represents in form the object which intercepts the light. When we speak of the shade of a tree, we have no reference to its form; but when we speak of measuring a pyramid or other object by its shadow, we have reference to its form and extent. [1913 Webster]

2.Darkness; obscurity; -- often in the plural. [1913 Webster]

The shades of night were falling fast.— Longfellow.[1913 Webster]

3.An obscure place; a spot not exposed to light; hence, a secluded retreat. [1913 Webster]

Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there Weep our sad bosoms empty.— Shak.[1913 Webster]

4.That which intercepts, or shelters from, light or the direct rays of the sun; hence, also, that which protects from heat or currents of air; a screen; protection; shelter; cover; as, a lamp shade. [1913 Webster]

The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.— Ps. cxxi. 5.[1913 Webster]
Sleep under a fresh tree's shade.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
Let the arched knife well sharpened now assail the spreading shades of vegetables.— J. Philips.[1913 Webster]

5.Shadow. [Poetic.] [1913 Webster]

Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue.— Pope.[1913 Webster]

6.The soul after its separation from the body; -- so called because the ancients it to be perceptible to the sight, though not to the touch; a spirit; a ghost; as, the shades of departed heroes. [1913 Webster]

Swift as thought the flitting shade Thro' air his momentary journey made.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

7.(Painting, Drawing, etc.) The darker portion of a picture; a less illuminated part. See Def. 1, above. [1913 Webster]

8.Degree or variation of color, as darker or lighter, stronger or paler; as, a delicate shade of pink. [1913 Webster]

White, red, yellow, blue, with their several degrees, or shades and mixtures, as green only in by the eyes.— Locke.[1913 Webster]

9.A minute difference or variation, as of thought, belief, expression, etc.; also, the quality or degree of anything which is distinguished from others similar by slight differences; as, the shades of meaning in synonyms. [1913 Webster]

New shades and combinations of thought.— De Quincey.[1913 Webster]
Every shade of religious and political opinion has its own headquarters.— Macaulay.[1913 Webster]

The Shades, the Nether World; the supposed abode of souls after leaving the body. [1913 Webster]

Shade \Shade\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Shading.]

1.To shelter or screen by intercepting the rays of light; to keep off illumination from. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

I went to crop the sylvan scenes, And shade our altars with their leafy greens.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

2.To shelter; to cover from injury; to protect; to screen; to hide; as, to shade one's eyes. [1913 Webster]

Ere in our own house I do shade my head.— Shak.[1913 Webster]

3.To obscure; to dim the brightness of. [1913 Webster]

Thou shad'st The full blaze of thy beams.— Milton.[1913 Webster]

4.To pain in obscure colors; to darken. [1913 Webster]

5.To mark with gradations of light or color. [1913 Webster]

6.To present a shadow or image of; to shadow forth; to represent. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

[The goddess] in her person cunningly did shade That part of Justice which is Equity.— Spenser.[1913 Webster]
Shade \Shade\ (sh[=a]d), v. i. [See Shade, n.] To undergo or exhibit minute difference or variation, as of color, meaning, expression, etc.; to pass by slight changes; -- used chiefly with a preposition, as into, away, off.

This small group will be most conveniently treated with the emotional division, into which it shades. --Edmund Gurney. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

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