Meaning & use
shallow
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Not deep from top to bottom.
Grammar: Used for water, dishes and holes: a shallow pool.
Patterns
- shallow end
The children played in the shallow end of the pool.
The stream is shallow enough to cross on foot.
Plant the seeds in a shallow trench.
adjectivecomparabledisapprovingfigurative
Lacking serious thought or real feeling.
Grammar: Often disapproving, about people or ideas.
The film was shallow and quickly forgotten.
He made a shallow remark about her clothes.
Her friendships felt shallow.
adjectivebefore a noun
Taken in or let out in small amounts, not filling the lungs.
Grammar: Used about breaths: shallow breathing.
The patient's breathing was shallow.
She took shallow breaths to stay calm.
Shallow breathing can be a sign of stress.
nounusually plural
A part of the water that is not deep.
Grammar: Usually the shallows: they waded through the shallows.
Patterns
- in the shallows
Fish dart through the shallows.
The boat ran aground in the shallows.
We waded out into the shallows.
Word forms
| comparative | shallower |
|---|---|
| superlative | shallowest |
| plural | shallows |
Common combinations
- shallow water
- Herons stand in shallow water.
- shallow grave
- The body was found in a shallow grave.
- shallow breathing
- Shallow breathing worried the nurse.
- shallow person
- He didn't want to seem like a shallow person.
- shallow end
- Beginners swim at the shallow end.
- shallow understanding
- They had only a shallow understanding of the law.
Synonyms and how they differ
- superficial
- Superficial means only on the surface and is used for thinking or injury, while shallow also describes physical depth.
- trivial
- Trivial means unimportant, while shallow says there is no depth or substance.
- frivolous
- Frivolous means silly and not serious, whereas shallow means lacking depth of feeling.
- surface
- Surface-level is a neutral way to say something lacks detail.
Opposites
Word family
- shallowness noun
- lack of depth
- shallowly adverb
- in a way that lacks depth
- shallows noun
- an area of shallow water
Commonly confused: shallow or shadow?
shallow vs shadow
Shadow is the dark shape cast by light being blocked, and looks similar but is unrelated.
Practice
The critic called the movie ______ because it had flashy effects but no real ideas.
Choose one answer.
Shallow figuratively means lacking depth of thought. The other words do not describe a lack of substance in a movie.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shallow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.