Definitions for: Shade


[n] protective covering that protects something from direct sunlight; "they used umbrellas as shades"; "as the sun moved he readjusted the shade"
[n] a representation of the effect of shade in a picture or drawing (as by shading or darker pigment)
[n] a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color; "after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted"
[n] a mental representation of some haunting experience; "he looked like he had seen a ghost"; "it aroused specters from his past"
[n] a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude; "without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor"; "don't argue about shades of meaning"
[n] a slight amount or degree of difference; "a tad too expensive"; "not a tad of difference"; "the new model is a shade better than the old one"
[n] a position of relative inferiority; "an achievement that puts everything else in the shade"; "his brother's success left him in the shade"
[n] relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body; "it is much cooler in the shade"; "there's too much shadiness to take good photographs"
[v] protect from light, heat, or view; "Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight"
[v] represent the effect of shade or shadow on
[v] cast a shadow over



Webster (1913) Definition: Shade, v. i. [See Shade, n.]
To undergo or exhibit minute difference or variation, as of
color, meaning, expression, etc.; to pass by slight changes;
-- used chiefly with a preposition, as into, away, off.

This small group will be most conveniently treated with
the emotional division, into which it shades. --Edmund
Gurney.


Shade (sh[=a]d), n. [OE. shade, shadewe, schadewe, AS.
sceadu, scead; akin to OS. skado, D. schaduw, OHG. scato,
(gen. scatewes), G. schatten, Goth. skadus, Ir. & Gael.
sgath, and probably to Gr. sko`tos darkness. [root]162. Cf.
Shadow, Shed a hat.]
1. Comparative obscurity owing to interception or
interruption of the rays of light; partial darkness caused
by the intervention of something between the space
contemplated and the source of light.

Note: Shade differs from shadow as it implies no particular
form or definite limit; whereas a shadow represents in
form the object which intercepts the light. When we
speak of the shade of a tree, we have no reference to
its form; but when we speak of measuring a pyramid or
other object by its shadow, we have reference to its
form and extent.

2. Darkness; obscurity; -- often in the plural.

The shades of night were falling fast. --Longfellow.

3. An obscure place; a spot not exposed to light; hence, a
secluded retreat.

Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there Weep
our sad bosoms empty. --Shak.

4. That which intercepts, or shelters from, light or the
direct rays of the sun; hence, also, that which protects
from heat or currents of air; a screen; protection;
shelter; cover; as, a lamp shade.

The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. --Ps.
cxxi. 5.

Sleep under a fresh tree's shade. --Shak.

Let the arched knife well sharpened now assail the
spreading shades of vegetables. --J. Philips.

5. Shadow. [Poetic.]

Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue. --Pope.

6. The soul after its separation from the body; -- so called
because the ancients it to be perceptible to the sight,
though not to the touch; a spirit; a ghost; as, the shades
of departed heroes.

Swift as thought the flitting shade Thro' air his
momentary journey made. --Dryden.

7. (Painting, Drawing, etc.) The darker portion of a picture;
a less illuminated part. See Def. 1, above.

8. Degree or variation of color, as darker or lighter,
stronger or paler; as, a delicate shade of pink.

White, red, yellow, blue, with their several
degrees, or shades and mixtures, as green only in by
the eyes. --Locke.

9. A minute difference or variation, as of thought, belief,
expression, etc.; also, the quality or degree of anything
which is distinguished from others similar by slight
differences; as, the shades of meaning in synonyms.

New shades and combinations of thought. --De
Quincey.

Every shade of religious and political opinion has
its own headquarters. --Macaulay.

The Shades, the Nether World; the supposed abode of souls
after leaving the body.


Shade, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shaded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Shading.]
1. To shelter or screen by intercepting the rays of light; to
keep off illumination from. --Milton.

I went to crop the sylvan scenes, And shade our
altars with their leafy greens. --Dryden.

2. To shelter; to cover from injury; to protect; to screen;
to hide; as, to shade one's eyes.

Ere in our own house I do shade my head. --Shak.

3. To obscure; to dim the brightness of.

Thou shad'st The full blaze of thy beams. --Milton.

4. To pain in obscure colors; to darken.

5. To mark with gradations of light or color.

6. To present a shadow or image of; to shadow forth; to
represent. [Obs.]

[The goddess] in her person cunningly did shade That
part of Justice which is Equity. --Spenser.

Synonyms: fill in, ghost, nicety, nuance, refinement, shade off, shadiness, shadow, shadowiness, specter, spectre, spook, subtlety, tad, tincture, tint, tone, wraith

See Also: apparition, bedim, block out, color, coloring, colour, colouring, crosshatch, draw, import, inferiority, lamp shade, lampshade, lower rank, lower status, meaning, obscure, overcloud, paint, parasol, phantom, pith hat, pith helmet, protection, protective cover, protective covering, representation, screen, semidarkness, shadow, shadow, significance, signification, small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity, sun helmet, sun visor, sunbonnet, sunhat, sunshade, tinge, topee, topi, undertone

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