Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Full of shade; shaded: synonym: dark.
  • adjective Casting shade.
  • adjective Of dubious character, morality, or legality; questionable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Abounding with or affording shade.
  • Sheltered from glare or sultry heat; shaded: as, a shady place.
  • Such as cannot bear the light; of doubtful honesty or morality: as, a shady transaction.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Abounding in shade or shades; overspread with shade; causing shade.
  • adjective Sheltered from the glare of light or sultry heat.
  • adjective colloq., colloq., colloq. Of or pertaining to shade or darkness
  • adjective [Colloq.] on the thither side of; as, on the shady side of fifty; that is, more than fifty.
  • adjective [Slang] to stay in concealment; also, to be reticent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Abounding in shades.
  • adjective Causing shade.
  • adjective Overspread with shade; sheltered from the glare of light or sultry heat.
  • adjective slang Not trustworthy; Unfit to be seen or known.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of businesses and businessmen) unscrupulous
  • adjective filled with shade
  • adjective not as expected
  • adjective of questionable taste or morality

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

shade +‎ -y

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Examples

  • Over the years, Bud Billings had some -- well, I mean, I ` ll use the term shady, maybe operating on the fringe of legality, with the used car business, pawnshops, running strip joints, that sort of thing.

    CNN Transcript Aug 18, 2009 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

  • I wear my seatbelt, don't smoke, eat healthy, use a water filter and carry a dummy wallet with fake credit cards and funny money whenever I'm in "shady" areas and hope I get pick pocketed.

    Ripped Off. Read My story 2009

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