shade
Pronunciation: (shād), [key] — n., v., shad•ed, shad•ing.
—n. - the comparative darkness caused by the interception or screening of rays of light from an object, place, or area.
- a place or an area of comparative darkness, as one sheltered from the sun.
- See
- a lampshade.
- Shades of night are falling.
- darkness gathering at the close of day:Shades of night are falling.
- Slang.sunglasses.
- a reminder of something:shades of the Inquisition.
- Usually,a secluded or obscure place: He was living in the shades.
- comparative obscurity.
- a specter or ghost.
- one of the spirits of the dead inhabiting Hades.
- a shadow.
- the degree of darkness of a color, determined by the quantity of black or by the lack of illumination.
- comparative darkness, as the effect of shadow or dark and light, in pictorial representation; the dark part, or a dark part, of a picture or drawing.
- a slight variation or degree: a shade of difference.
- a little bit; touch, esp. of something that may change the color of or lighten or darken something else: coffee with a shade of cream.
- anything used for protection against excessive light, heat, etc.
- (in architectural shades and shadows) a shadow upon those parts of a solid that are tangent to or turned away from the parallel rays from the theoretical light source. Cf.(def. 11).
- ororto make another person's efforts seem insignificant by comparison; surpass: Her playing puts mine in the shade.
- Hades, as the abode of the spirits of the dead.
—v.t. - to produce shade in or on.
- to obscure, dim, or darken.
- to screen or hide from view.
- to protect (something) from light, heat, etc., by or as by a screen: to shade the eyes from a bright light.
- to cover or screen (a candle, light, etc.): to shade a light to protect the eyes.
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- to introduce degrees of darkness into (a drawing or painting) in order to render light and shadow or give the effect of color.
- to render the values of light and dark in (a drawn figure, object, etc.), esp. in order to create the illusion of three-dimensionality.
- to change by imperceptible degrees into something else.
- to reduce (the price) by way of a concession.
—v.i. - to pass or change by slight graduations, as one color, quality, or thing into another.
- to take shelter (as livestock) from the sun.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.