shady

Adjective

WordNet 3.0

Adjective (4)

  1. (of businesses and businessmen) unscrupulous“a shady operation”Synonyms: fly-by-night
  2. of questionable taste or morality“a louche nightclub”“a louche painting”Synonyms: louche
  3. not as expected“there was something fishy about the accident”“up to some funny business”“some definitely queer goings-on”“a shady deal”“her motives were suspect”“suspicious behavior”Synonyms: fishyfunnysuspectsuspicious
  4. filled with shade“the shady side of the street”“the surface of the pond is dark and shadowed”“we sat on rocks in a shadowy cove”“cool umbrageous woodlands”Synonyms: shadowedshadowyumbrageous
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Shady \Shad"y\, a. [Compar. Shadier; superl. Shadiest.]

1.Abounding in shade or shades; overspread with shade; causing shade. [1913 Webster]

The shady trees cover him with their shadow.— Job. xl. 22.[1913 Webster]
And Amaryllis fills the shady groves.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

2.Sheltered from the glare of light or sultry heat. [1913 Webster]

Cast it also that you may have rooms shady for summer and warm for winter.— Bacon.[1913 Webster]

3.Of or pertaining to shade or darkness; hence, unfit to be seen or known; of questionable character; unsavory; equivocal; dubious, corrupt, or criminal; as, a shady character; -- of people or activities. [Colloq.] "A shady business." --London Sat. Rev.

Shady characters, disreputable, criminal.— London Spectator.[1913 Webster]

On the shady side of, on the thither side of; as, on the shady side of fifty; that is, more than fifty. [Colloq.]

To keep shady, to stay in concealment; also, to be reticent. [Slang] [1913 Webster]

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