SHALLOW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shallow mean? 

• SHALLOW (noun)
  The noun SHALLOW has 1 sense:

1. a stretch of shallow water

  Familiarity information: SHALLOW used as a noun is very rare.

• SHALLOW (adjective)
  The adjective SHALLOW has 3 senses:

1. lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center

2. not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply

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

  Familiarity information: SHALLOW used as an adjective is uncommon.

• SHALLOW (verb)
  The verb SHALLOW has 2 senses:

1. make shallow

2. become shallow

  Familiarity information: SHALLOW used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHALLOW (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A stretch of shallow water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

shallow; shoal

Hypernyms ("shallow" is a kind of...):

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

Derivation:

shallow (become shallow)

shallow (make shallow)

shallow (lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center)

• SHALLOW (adjective)

Comparative: shallower   
Superlative: shallowest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center

Context example:

hit the ball to shallow left field

Similar:

ankle-deep; knee-deep (coming only to the ankle or knee)

fordable (shallow enough to be crossed by walking or riding on an animal or in a vehicle)

neritic (relating to the region of shallow water adjoining the seacoast)

superficial (occurring on or near the surface of the skin)

reefy; shelfy; shelvy; shoaly (full of submerged reefs or sandbanks or shoals)

Attribute:

deepness; depth (the extent downward or backward or inward)

Antonym:

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)

Derivation:

shallow (a stretch of shallow water)

shallowness (the quality of lacking physical depth)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply

Context example:

in a shallow trance

Similar:

light; wakeful ((of sleep) easily disturbed)

Attribute:

deepness; depth (the extent downward or backward or inward)

Antonym:

deep (relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Context example:

his arguments seemed shallow and tedious

Similar:

superficial (concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually)

Derivation:

shallowness (lack of depth of knowledge or thought or feeling)

• SHALLOW (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they shallow    ... he / she / it shallows   
Past simple: shallowed   
Past participle: shallowed   
-ing form: shallowing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make shallow

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

shallow; shoal

Context example:

The silt shallowed the canal

Hypernyms (to "shallow" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

shallow (a stretch of shallow water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become shallow

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

shallow; shoal

Context example:

the lake shallowed over time

Hypernyms (to "shallow" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

shallow (a stretch of shallow water)

 Context examples 

A shallow dish with a lid used to culture cells.

(Petri Dish, NCI Thesaurus)

If anyone were forced to conceal himself in this room he must do it there, since the bed is too low and the wardrobe too shallow.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He crossed no more hills or divides, but automatically followed a large stream which flowed through a wide and shallow valley.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The discovery of past land and shallow seas now provides an explanation.

(Scientists return from expedition to lost continent of Zealandia, National Science Foundation)

The pool is over four times larger than a shallower, long-known magma chamber.

(Yellowstone magma discovery, NSF)

Scientists say it's likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

(NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today's Mars, NASA)

There also are numerous smaller, shallower lakes, with rounded edges and steep walls that are generally found in flat areas.

(The Mysterious 'Lakes' on Saturn's Moon Titan, NASA)

The deposits are scattered across the moon’s dark volcanic plains and are characterized by a mixture of smooth, rounded, shallow mounds next to patches of rough, blocky terrain.

(Evidence for Young Lunar Volcanism, NASA)

The similar appearance and widespread nature of these fresh, shallow valleys on Mars suggest they formed on a global scale rather than a local or regional scale.

(Some Ancient Mars Lakes Came Long After Others, NASA)

It has a broken surface of irregularly-shaped segments, roughly 12 miles (20 kilometers) across, bordered by what appear to be shallow troughs.

(New Horizons Discovers Frozen Plains in the Heart of Pluto’s ‘Heart’, NASA)