adjective, shad·i·er, shad·i·est.
- abounding in shade; shaded: shady paths.
- giving shade: a shady tree.
- shadowy; indistinct; spectral.
- of dubious character; rather disreputable: shady dealings.
Idioms
- on the shady side of, Informal. beyond (the specified age); more than: on the shady side of 40.
adjective shadier or shadiest
- full of shade; shaded
- affording or casting a shade
- dim, quiet, or concealed
- informal dubious or questionable as to honesty or legality
adj.“affording shade,” 1570s; “protected by shade,” 1590s; from shade (n.) + -y (2). Meaning “disreputable” (1862) probably is from earlier university slang sense of “of questionable merit, unreliable” (1848). Related: Shadily; shadiness. Old English had sceadlic “shady, ‘shadely.'”