shade Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
    shadowiness; shadiness.
    • it is much cooler in the shade
    • there's too much shadiness to take good photographs
  2. noun a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
    tint; tone; tincture.
    • after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted
  3. noun protective covering that protects something from direct sunlight
    • they used umbrellas as shades
    • as the sun moved he readjusted the shade
  4. noun a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    nicety; refinement; subtlety; nuance.
    • without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor
    • don't argue about shades of meaning
  5. noun a position of relative inferiority
    • an achievement that puts everything else in the shade
    • his brother's success left him in the shade
  6. noun a slight amount or degree of difference
    tad.
    • a tad too expensive
    • not a tad of difference
    • the new model is a shade better than the old one
  7. noun a mental representation of some haunting experience
    ghost; spectre; spook; specter; wraith.
    • he looked like he had seen a ghost
    • it aroused specters from his past
  8. noun a representation of the effect of shadows in a picture or drawing (as by shading or darker pigment)
  9. verb cast a shadow over
    shadow; shade off.
  10. verb represent the effect of shade or shadow on
    fill in.
  11. verb protect from light, heat, or view
    • Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight
  12. verb vary slightly
    • shade the meaning
  13. verb pass from one quality such as color to another by a slight degree
    • the butterfly wings shade to yellow

WordNet

Shade noun
Etymology
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. darkness. Cf. Shadow, Shed a hat.
Definitions
  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. ✍ 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.
Shade transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Shaded; present participle & verbal noun Shading
Definitions
  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.

Webster 1913