Definition of the word shallow

Recent Examples on the Web

Just before serving, divide the noodles among plates or shallow bowls and drizzle with the sauce.


—G. Daniela Galarza, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023




Vanessa Guillén, who disappeared in April 2020 and was later found dead in a shallow grave.


—Camila Bernal, CNN, 17 Mar. 2023




Let the rice stand, covered, for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wide, shallow bowl.


—Christopher Kimball, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2023




Wilds’ decomposing, nude body was covered in quicklime and possibly dragged out of a shallow grave by an animal by the time she was found by two hikers in June 2006.


—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2023




The body appeared to have been dragged from a nearby shallow grave by a large predator, and deputies located a pair of yellow ski pants, a sleeping bag and a pillow in a pillowcase, all neatly folded up near the gravesite.


—Mitchell Byars, Daily Camera, Boulder, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Mar. 2023




Hernandez’s body was later found in a shallow grave in Kearney.


—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2023




Set decorative plates or shallow bowls on overturned (or upright) footed dishes, candlesticks, or sugar bowls.


—Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 22 Feb. 2023




The kitchen staple that’s been circulating social media and dishware retailers alike can be described simply as a shallow bowl.


—Megan Schaltegger, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Feb. 2023

Dylan Carey then popped up to shallow right-center, but the ball went off the glove of both second baseman Erick Orbeta and right fielder Colson Lawrence for an error and a 5-1 lead.


—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 26 Feb. 2023




Mikey Kane smacked a bloop single to shallow right field in his final at-bat Friday, extending his hitting streak to five games this season.


—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 25 Feb. 2023




Argyle had one player reach in the second inning on a popup to shallow right which fell for an error but could not plate the runner before being set down in order the next three innings.


—Dallas News, 25 May 2022




The Phillies nearly lost the game in the ninth inning when rookie Jeremy Peña sent a blooper to shallow right field.


—Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Oct. 2022




After Grossman’s leadoff double in the fifth inning, the Tigers stranded him at second base, as Tucker Barnhart (lineout to shallow center), Willi Castro (strikeout) and Riley Greene (groundout) were retired.


—Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 31 July 2022




Then, Kimbrel threw another fastball over the plate that Caratini feathered to shallow right field, where Mookie Betts fielded it with no time to get a throw to the plate.


—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022




Costal breathing refers to shallow breathing, in which your intercostal muscles (the muscles between the ribs) are used to inhale and expel air, Dr. Khurana says.


—Emilia Benton, SELF, 4 Aug. 2022




Yelich doubled to shallow left, beating the shift of Red Sox third baseman Bobby Dalbec.


—Julian Mcwilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022

The site’s unusually high concentration of the rare variety started out as a shallow seabed about 280 million years ago.


—Sylvia Morrow, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2018




Featuring six shallow to deeper drawers, this organizer also has a top shelf with 12 mini compartments for holding lipsticks and nail polishes.


—Sam Peters, ELLE, 22 Feb. 2023




Playing shallow on Whit Merrifield, Taveras came up short on a liner into the gap in right center.


—Dallas News, 28 June 2022




Her breathing shallow, as if being suffocated by an invisible force.


—Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022




In a large shallow ovenproof pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.


—Kim Sunée, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Feb. 2023




Put the chicken into a large cold shallow casserole pan and place on a high heat.


—Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2023




Some on Wall Street are saying the central bank will start cutting rates late this year as inflation eases, keeping the recession shallow and sparking an equity-market rebound.


—Matt Wirz, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2023




The shallow magma reservoirs that feed Hawaii’s eruptions have been known about for some time.


—Robin George Andrews, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Dec. 2022


See More

What does the word shallow mean?

According to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language as well as Collins English Dictionary and American Heritage, the word shallow is an adjective meaning having little depth, or having little spatial extension inward or backward. This can be used literally to talk about physical depth in water or shallow breathing, but can also  be used figuratively to describe a person or thing that lacks in depth of intellect, thought, knowledge or feeling, or that which penetrates only the easily perceived. The pronunciation of shallow is . The suffixes er and est can be added to the end of the word to create the superlatives shallower and shallowest, and ly can be added to make shallowly (adv.). Different suffixed can be added to create other tenses beside the present tense, like the present participle. Shallow is also a popular song from the film A Star is Born sung by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. It has been sung by many women’s voices throughout the years, and was nominated for an Oscar.

Many different languages also contain words that mean shallow (adj.). You may notice that some of these words look and sound similar to the word shallow and to each other. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that look and sound similar and also mean similar things. These are often formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of shallow is provided by Word Sense.

•  Mandarin: 淺‎, 浅‎ (qiǎn)
•  Scottish Gaelic: eu-domhainn‎
•  Armenian: ծանծաղ‎
•  Catalan: pla‎, poc profund‎, superficial‎
•  Georgian: მარჩხობი‎, წყალმარჩხი‎
•  Latvian: sekls‎
•  German: seicht‎, flach‎
•  Ukrainian: мілкий‎ (milkýj), неглибокий‎ (nehlybókyj)
•  Macedonian: плиток‎ (plítok)
•  Arabic: ضَحِل‎
•  Danish: flad‎, lav‎
•  Interlingua: pauco profunde‎
•  French: peu profond‎
•  Polish: płytki‎
•  Swedish: ytlig‎ (common)
•  Italian: superficiale‎
•  Esperanto: malprofunda‎
•  Basque: azaleko‎
•  Hungarian: lapos‎, sekély‎
•  Occitan: superficial‎
•  Russian: ме́лкий‎, неглубо́кий‎
•  Lithuanian: seklus‎
•  Japanese: 浅い‎ (あさい, asai)
•  Nynorsk: flat‎, lav‎, grunn‎
•  Latgalian: seklys‎
•  Romanian: plat‎, puțin adânc‎
•  Slovak: plytký‎
•  Persian: کم عمق‎ (kam-omq), تنک‎ (tonok), تخت‎ (taxt)
•  Bokmål: flat‎, lav‎, grunn‎
•  Bashkir: һай‎
•  Finnish: matala‎, laakea‎
•  Greek: ρηχός‎
•  Czech: mělký‎
•  Portuguese: raso‎, superficial‎
•  Spanish: poco profundo‎ (masc.), superficial‎

What is the origin of the word shallow?

According to Etymonline, the word shallow has been used since 14c Middle English as schalowe to mean not deep. This is related to the Old English sceald which gives us the related word shoal. This has been used with regard to breathing since the 1870s, and of thought or feelings since the 1580s. The noun, usually written as shallows, has been used since the 1570s.

How can the word shallow be used in a sentence?

The word shallow can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Using words in a sentence or making flashcards and quizzes for yourself are all great ways to memorize a word’s definition. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Below are many examples of shallow.

The children played in the shallow end of the pool for safety. The swimming pool had part of a playing area and the stretch of shallow water was near the seating area, unlike the deep end, so parents could keep an eye on the children.

Jackson hit the baseball into the shallow left field, and it wasn’t enough to let him return back to home plate before he was outed.

The woman filled the shallow pan with onions, and made penetration with shallow cuts on the outer surface of the potatoes. She rubbed the chicken with a spice mixture and placed the shallow dish into the oven to cook.

The man took shallow breaths, only taking in a small amount of air with each inhalation. He was in shock after his attempted robbery, and had night after night of shallow fretful sleep after the incident.

The woman grew tired of much conversation. She felt most people she interacted with were shallow people who only cared about appearances.

Maria shoved her clothes into the shallow closet. She couldn’t wait to start renovations and receive a great spatial extension to her wardrobe.

The friends decided to wade in the shallow beachhead. Their friend ventured into the deep body of water, but quickly scurried back to the shallow portion when he felt something slimy touch his leg.

What are synonyms and antonyms of the word shallow?

There are many different words that a person can use in place of the word shallow. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same definition as another word or phrase. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your vocabulary and avoid repeating yourself. This list of synonyms is provided by Thesaurus.

•  flimsy
•  shoal
•  puerile
•  uncritical
•  flat
•  trifling
•  lightweight
•  cursory
•  piddling
•  meaningless
•  frivolous
•  inane
•  sand bar
•  farcical
•  empty
•  surface
•  vain
•  paltry
•  wishy-washy
•  trivial
•  slight
•  skin-deep
•  petty
•  flighty
•  idle
•  superficial
•  empty-headed
•  frothy
•  shelf
•  foolish
•  inconsiderable
•  featherbrained
•  unsound
•  simple
•  half-baked
•  sketchy
•  hollow
•  unthinking
•  depthless

There are also numerous different words that mean the opposite of the word shallow. These opposite words are called antonyms. Learning antonyms is another great way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms for the word shallow is also provided by Thesaurus.

•  buried
•  subterranean
•  immersed
•  low
•  unfathomable
•  abyssal
•  distant
•  inmost
•  wide
•  underground
•  broad
•  fathomless
•  downreaching
•  bottomless
•  beneath
•  deep
•  submerged
•  yawning
•  subaqueous
•  abysmal
•  sunk
•  deep-seated
•  below
•  profound
•  submarine
•  far
•  rooted

Overall, the word shallow means not deep. This word can be used literally and figuratively.

Sources:

1. shallow: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
2. SHALLOW Synonyms: 70 Synonyms & Antonyms for SHALLOW | Thesaurus 
3. DEEP Synonyms: 214 Synonyms & Antonyms for DEEP | Thesaurus  
4. shallow | Origin and meaning of shallow | Online Etymology Dictionary  
5. Shallow | Definition of Shallow | Merriam-Webster 

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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”).^[1] Related to Low German Scholl (“shallow water”). See also shoal.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaləʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈʃæl.oʊ/
• Rhymes: -æləʊ
• Hyphenation: shal‧low

Adjective[edit]

shallow (comparative shallower, superlative shallowest)

1. Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.

   This crater is relatively shallow.

   Saute the onions in a shallow pan.

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.

   The acting is good, but the characters are shallow.

5. Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.

   shallow learning

   • The king was neither so shallow, nor so ill advertised, as not to perceive the intention of the French king.

6. (obsolete) Not deep in tone.

   • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     the sound perfecter and not so shallow and jarring

7. (tennis) Not far forward, close to the net.

   • 2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     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. (angles) Not steep; close to horizontal.

   a shallow climb; a shallow descent; a shallow bank angle

   • 1922 July 24, Aviation Magazine:

     The planes then flew side by side with motors wide open in a very shallow climb….

   • 1968 December 20, CBS Evening News:

     If they [the Apollo astronauts] come in too steeply, they will be crushed in the Earth’s atmosphere. If they come in too shallow, they will skip out and go into Earth orbit and not be able to return.

Antonyms[edit]

• deep

Derived terms[edit]

• given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

shallow (plural shallows)

1. A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.

   The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow.

   • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     A swift stream is not heard in the channel, but […] upon shallows of gravel.

   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     dashed on the shallows of the moving sand

   • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine:

     It happened that, as I was watching some of the little people bathing in a shallow, one of them was seized with cramp and began drifting downstream.

2. A fish, the rudd.
3. (historical) A costermonger’s barrow.
   • 1871, Belgravia (volume 14, page 213)

     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.

Usage notes[edit]

• Usually used in the plural form.

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

shallow (third-person singular simple present shallows, present participle shallowing, simple past and past participle shallowed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To make or become less deep.

   • 2009 February 6, Andrew Z. Krug et al., “Signature of the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction in the Modern Biota”, in Science‎^[2], volume 323, number 5915, →DOI, pages 767-771:

     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 ).

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

• hallows

Britannica Dictionary definition of SHALLOW

[also more shallow; most shallow]

• 1
  shallow
  
  

  shallow [ˊʃæləυ]

  1) ме́лкий;

  2) пове́рхностный, пусто́й;

  2.

  n

  ме́лкое ме́сто, мель; о́тмель

  1) меле́ть

  2) уменьша́ть глубину́

  Англо-русский словарь Мюллера > shallow

• 2
  shallow
  
  

  shallow descent

  пологое снижение

  shallow dive

  пологое пикирование

  shallow fog

  низкий туман

  English-Russian aviation dictionary > shallow

• 3
  shallow
  
  

  shallow

  n

  Англо-русский строительный словарь.
  .
  2011.

  Англо-русский словарь строительных терминов > shallow

• 4
  shallow
  
  

  Персональный Сократ > shallow

• 5
  shallow
  
  

  1. n часто pl мелкое место, мелководье, мель; отмель

  2. a мелкий, мелководный; неглубокий

  3. a поверхностный, ограниченный; пустой

  4. v мелеть

  5. v уменьшать глубину

  shallow gas — газ, поступающий с небольших глубин

  Синонимический ряд:

  1. having little depth (adj.) fordable; having little depth; lacking depth; non-navigable; not deep enough; slight; surface; wading

  2. superficial (adj.) cursory; depthless; one-dimensional; shoal; sketchy; skin-deep; superficial; uncritical

  3. trite (adj.) frivolous; inconsequential; insignificant; insubstantial; not profound; silly; trifling; trite; trivial; unintelligent

  Антонимический ряд:

  English-Russian base dictionary > shallow

• 6
  shallow
  
  

  1. [ʹʃæləʋ]

  часто pl

  мелкое место, мелководье, мель; отмель

  2. [ʹʃæləʋ]

  1. мелкий, мелководный; неглубокий

  2. поверхностный, ограниченный; пустой

  shallow analysis [mind] — поверхностный /неглубокий/ анализ [ум]

  shallow thought — мелкая /пошлая/ мысль

  shallow person — ограниченный /пустой/ человек

  shallow argument — а) необоснованный довод; б) мелкий спор

  she is too shallow to be touched by this — она слишком легкомысленна, чтобы её это задело /тронуло, взволновало/

  where the water is shallow, no vessel will ride — где мелкая вода, никакое судно не пройдёт; ≅ по мелководью и утка не поплывёт

  shallow streams /waters/ make most din — мелкие ручейки звонко шумят; ≅ пустая бочка пуще гремит

  3. [ʹʃæləʋ]

  1. мелеть

  2. уменьшать глубину

  НБАРС > shallow

• 7
  shallow
  
  

  [‘ʃæləʊ]

  adj

  1) мелкий, мелководный, неглубокий

  The pan is too shallow to bake bread in. — Сковорода слишком мелка для того, чтобы в ней печь хлеб.

  The river was shallow enough for the children to bathe. — Река достаточно мелкая и дети могут купаться.

  — shallow stream

  
  — shallow sea
  — shallow river
  — shallow lake
  — shallow pond
  — shallow pan
  — shallow breathing
  — shallow roots of a tree

  2) поверхностный, ограниченный

  — shallow mind

  
  — shallow person
  — shallow analysis
  — shallow explanation
  — shallow play

  English-Russian combinatory dictionary > shallow

• 8
  shallow
  
  

  ˈʃæləu
  1. прил.
  1) а) мелкий, мелководный shallow stream ≈ мелкий ручей shallow sea ≈ мелководное море shallow draft б) неглубокий;
  плоский shallow pan ≈ неглубокая сковорода shallow roots of a tree ≈ неглубокие корни shallow breathing ≈ неглубокое дыхание Syn: flat ∙ Ant: deep, profound
  2) перен. а) ограниченный, поверхностный, пустой shallow play ≈несерьезная, неглубокая пьеса shallow explanation ≈ поверхностное объяснение Syn: superficial, obvious Ant: profound б) некрепкий, не верный Theirs is only a shallow friendship. ≈У них некрепкая дружба.
  3) геол. аллювиальный, наносный
  2. сущ.;
  часто мн. мелкое место, мель;
  отмель Alligators live in the shallows. ≈ Аллигаторы водятся на мелководье.
  3. гл.
  1) мелеть
  2) а) уменьшать глубину;
  делать более плоским б) перен. упрощать;
  делать поверхностным, неглубоким
  часто pl мелкое место, мелководье, мель;
  отмель — the * of the river брод мелкий, мелководный;
  неглубокий — * stream мелкий ручей — * sea мелководное море — * tray плоский поднос — * hole неглубокая яма — * steps пологие ступени — * lens плоская линза поверхностный, ограниченный;
  пустой — * analysis поверхностный /неглубокий/ анализ — * thought мелкая /пошлая/ мысль — * person ограниченный /пустой/ человек — * generalizations непродуманные обобщения — * policy недальновидная политика — * argument необоснованный довод;
  мелкий спор — she is too * to be touched by this она слишком легкомысленна, чтобы ее это задело /тронуло, взволновало/ > where the water is *, no vessel will ride где мелкая вода, никакое судно не пройдет;
  по мелководью и утка не поплывет > * streams /waters/ make most din (пословица) мелкие ручейки звонко шумят;
  пустая бочка пуще гремит мелеть уменьшать глубину
  shallow мелеть ~ мелкий;
  shallow draft мор. небольшая осадка ~ мелкий ~ мелкое место, мель;
  отмель ~ поверхностный, пустой;
  shallow mind поверхностный, неглубокий ум ~ уменьшать глубину
  ~ мелкий;
  shallow draft мор. небольшая осадка
  ~ поверхностный, пустой;
  shallow mind поверхностный, неглубокий ум

  Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > shallow

• 9
  shallow
  
  

  [ˈʃæləu]

  shallow мелеть shallow мелкий; shallow draft мор. небольшая осадка shallow мелкий shallow мелкое место, мель; отмель shallow поверхностный, пустой; shallow mind поверхностный, неглубокий ум shallow уменьшать глубину shallow мелкий; shallow draft мор. небольшая осадка shallow поверхностный, пустой; shallow mind поверхностный, неглубокий ум

  English-Russian short dictionary > shallow

• 10
  shallow
  
  

  мелкий
  имя прилагательное:

  имя существительное:

  мель (shallow, shoal, shelf)

  глагол:

  Англо-русский синонимический словарь > shallow

• 11
  shallow
  
  

  [‘ʃæləu]
  1.

  прил.

  1)

  а) мелкий, мелководный

  Syn:

  •

  Ant:

  2)

  а) поверхностный, пустой

  Syn:

  Ant:

  б) некрепкий, неверный

  Theirs is only a shallow friendship. — У них некрепкая дружба.

  3)

  геол.

  аллювиальный, наносный

  2.

  ; обычно

  мн.

  мелкое место, мель; отмель

  Alligators live in the shallows. — Аллигаторы водятся на мелководье.

  3.

  гл.

  2)

  б) упрощать; делать поверхностным, неглубоким

  Англо-русский современный словарь > shallow

• 12
  shallow
  
  

  Англо-русский словарь по машиностроению > shallow

• 13
  shallow
  
  

  Англо-русский технический словарь > shallow

• 14
  shallow
  
  

  English-Russian big polytechnic dictionary > shallow

• 15
  shallow
  
  

  English-Russian big medical dictionary > shallow

• 16
  shallow
  
  

  The English-Russian dictionary general scientific > shallow

• 17
  shallow
  
  

  a

  поверхностный; неглубокий

  English-russian dctionary of diplomacy > shallow

• 18
  shallow
  
  

  [‘ʃælou]

  2) поверхностный, неглубокий

  мель, отмель

  2000 самых употребительных английских слов > shallow

• 19
  shallow
  
  

  1) мелкий; shallow draft

  naut.

  небольшая осадка

  2) поверхностный, пустой; shallow mind поверхностный, неглубокий ум

  Syn:

  superficial

  мелкое место, мель; отмель

  1) мелеть

  2) уменьшать глубину

  * * *

  (a) мелкий; неглубокий

  * * *

  мелкий, неглубокий

  * * *

  [shal·low || ‘ʃæləʊ]
  мелкий, мелководный, маловодный, пустой, поверхностный

  * * *

  мелеть

  мелкий

  мельчайший

  * * *

  1. прил.
  1) а) мелкий
  б) неглубокий
  2) перен.
  а) ограниченный
  б) некрепкий, не верный
  3) геол. аллювиальный
  2. сущ.; часто мн.
  мелкое место
  3. гл.
  1) мелеть
  2) а) уменьшать глубину; делать более плоским
  б) перен. упрощать; делать поверхностным

  Новый англо-русский словарь > shallow

• 20
  shallow
  
  

  1.

  a

  1) ме́лкий, неглубо́кий

  2.

  n

  мель ж

  The Americanisms. English-Russian dictionary. > shallow