Link Centre Dictionary

shady

UK/ˈʃeɪdi/ US/ˈʃeɪdi/ fairly common informal slang uk

adjective

1.

of businesses and businessmen

  • “a fly-by-night operation”
Synonyms
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2.

of questionable taste or morality

  • “a louche nightclub”
  • “a louche painting”
Synonyms
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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
Similar
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
Similar

Origin

From shade + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian skaadich, skaddich (“shady”), German schattig (“shady”).

Phrases

  • keep shady
  • on the shady side of
  • Shady Cove
  • Shady Creek
  • Shady Valley

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.