shadier; shadiest
1
: producing or affording shade
2
: sheltered from the sun's rays
3
a
: of questionable merit : uncertain, unreliable
b
Examples of shady in a Sentence
Their backyard is nice and shady.
I don't trust him. He seems like a pretty shady character.
Recent Examples on the Web
They get captured by Hungarian gangsters and have to fight (and kill) their way out of an inn run by a shady former dance prodigy (Uma Thurman).
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
Take them to a shady outdoor location for a few hours a day and bring them back in again at night.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
And with flowers like impatiens and primrose, your shady spaces can bloom with color from spring through frost.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
Industry associates whispered to Vanity Fair in 1996 about Mottola adopting shady mobster tactics in his running of Sony, demanding loyalty and allegedly keeping a gun in his briefcase.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shady
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
Take them to a shady outdoor location for a few hours a day and bring them back in again at night.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
And with flowers like impatiens and primrose, your shady spaces can bloom with color from spring through frost.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
Industry associates whispered to Vanity Fair in 1996 about Mottola adopting shady mobster tactics in his running of Sony, demanding loyalty and allegedly keeping a gun in his briefcase.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shady
Cite this Entry
“Shady.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shady. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shady
adjective
shadier; shadiest
1
: casting a shadow : giving shade
2
: sheltered from the sun's rays
a shady grove
3
: not right or honest
a shady business deal
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
