shade

Noun

• a representation of the effect of shadows in a picture or drawing (as by shading or darker pigment)

• a mental representation of some haunting experience
  • he looked like he had seen a ghost
    
  • it aroused specters from his past
    

• 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
    

• a position of relative inferiority
  • an achievement that puts everything else in the shade
    
  • his brother's success left him in the shade
    

• 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
    

• protective covering that protects something from direct sunlight
  • they used umbrellas as shades
    
  • as the sun moved he readjusted the shade
    

• a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
  • after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted
    

• 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
    

Verb

• pass from one quality such as color to another by a slight degree
  • the butterfly wings shade to yellow
    

• vary slightly
  • shade the meaning
    

• protect from light, heat, or view
  • Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight
    

• represent the effect of shade or shadow on

• cast a shadow over

Related words

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