shadows
Light's absent traces
Shadows are dark areas where light is blocked by an object.
Every shadow implies both a light source and something standing in its way.
Shadows lengthen at dawn and dusk, shrink at midday.
Figuratively, a shadow is anything that follows closely or looms ominously: living in the shadow of her famous mother, a shadow of doubt.
To shadow someone is to follow them secretly.
The shadows means darkness or obscurity: lurking in the shadows.
Onset of darkness
- duskDimming after sundown
- gloamingPoetic term for dusk
- twilightLight after sunset
- dimnessInsufficient illumination
obscurity · blackness · gloom · penumbra · umbra · half-light · murk · crepuscular
Summary of key elements
- profileSide-facing outline
- contourBounding line of shape
- figureOutline or numeral
- shapeExternal outline of something
form · cutout · backlighting · contrast · silhouetted · projection · looming · cast
Disturbingly unforgettable
- ghostlyResembling a specter
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
sinister · ominous · creepy · spooky · lurking · foreboding · uncanny · macabre
Kept out of sight
- lurkingConcealed and watchful
- stealthSecret, undetected movement
- covertIntentionally concealed
- camouflageConcealment through visual blending
disguise · cloak · veil · obscured · unseen · surreptitious · undercover · clandestine
nightfall
Onset of darkness
dimness · obscurity · blackness · gloom · penumbra · umbra · half-light · murk · crepuscular · tenebrous
outline
Summary of key elements
shape · form · cutout · backlighting · contrast · silhouetted · projection · looming · cast · elongated
haunting
Disturbingly unforgettable
apparition · sinister · ominous · creepy · spooky · lurking · foreboding · uncanny · macabre · chilling
hidden
Kept out of sight
camouflage · disguise · cloak · veil · obscured · unseen · surreptitious · undercover · clandestine · spy
uncertainty
State of being unsure
suggestion · cloud · pall · taint · specter · looming · cast · question · misgiving · qualm
shelter
Protected place or structure
awning · parasol · umbrella · protection · relief · haven · leafy · dappled · retreat · oasis
- Nightmoon, stars, moonlight, starlight, midnight
- nounsanimals, bags, balls, banks, beds
- nighttimemidnight, nightfall, night sky, nighttime, starry sky
- compositionbalance, symmetry, asymmetry, proportion, layout
- dark forestgloom, moonlight, owls, wolves, trees
- Darknessblackness, pitch black, pitch-black, inkiness, murk
shadowslight
Visible electromagnetic radiation
lights · brightness · brilliance · illumination · sunlight
shadowsclarity
State of being understandable
exposure · revelation · openness · transparency · visibility
shadowssubstance
Physical material with mass
reality · actuality · flesh and blood · materiality · the real thing
- cast a shadowIntercept light, create silhouette
- eye shadowCosmetic for lids
- five o'clock shadowDay-end facial hair
- shadow of a doubtMinimal remaining uncertainty
- shadow boxingPracticing punches without partner
- shadow figureDark indistinct human shape
shadow, shadowy, overshadow, shadowed, shadowing, foreshadow, foreshadowing, overshadowed, foreshadowed