SHALLOW(S) Synonyms: 12 Similar and Opposite Words

shallows

noun

plural of shallow

as in shoal

a place where a body of water (as a sea or river) is shallow we waded through the shallows looking for tadpoles

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shallows Take things up a notch and reserve in advance for Dinner on the Sandbar, a private five-course dinner in the shallows surrounding Little Palm Island. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026 At Brooks Falls, visitors watch from elevated platforms as the bruins barrel through the shallows in pursuit of silvery fish or stake out prime positions on the lip of the falls, waiting for salmon to vault from the water into their gaping maws. — Bailey Berg, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026 Azzuro said the shallows of the eastern Mediterranean have lost 93% of their mollusk population. — ABC News, 30 July 2026 Barring bedding season in the early summer when large fish guard nests in the shallows, bigger fish will hang out in deeper, cooler water most of the time. — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026 Instead of clear water and visible fins cutting through the shallows, the researchers were met with something far less cooperative. — Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026 Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are Instagram classics, and the shallows off Maho Bay are known for sea turtles. — David Dickstein, Oc Register, 17 June 2026 As the boat pulls in, the children clamber over the side, wading through the shallows past abandoned, submerged school buildings. — Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 31 May 2026 Thawing ice along a riverbank, the shallows capturing the reflection of one of the grandchildren; the burning flame of a wick disappearing into a birthday cake; the deep, dark tunnel of a fleeting set of train tracks, as piercing as the endless blue eyes of the toddler in the diptych beside it. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 9 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shallows

Noun

Volunteers and staff with the nonprofit foundation removed alligatorweed from the shoals manually but are working on grant proposals to remove more.

— John Marks, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2026
When Duterte refused, China began blocking Filipino fishermen from the shoal again.

— Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026

Definition of shoal

Noun

The tall bleached ''bathtub ring'' is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on August 01, 2026 in Page, Arizona.

— Jon Haworth, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026
Bitcoin moves value globally without requiring banks or institutions of any kind, provides final settlement without an issuer, and allows anyone to verify its supply.

— Dave Birnbaum, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of bank

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shallowness

shallows

sham

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“Shallows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shallows. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of shallows

noun

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