Words / B2

SHAL-oh/ˈʃæləʊ/

Shallow means not deep, or not showing serious thought: a shallow sample; shallow water. Opposite: deep. Superficial is the essay twin for weak analysis. A shallow sample of five tweets. Mix-up: hollow means empty inside; shadow is shade (already in the dictionary). Do not call a 2-metre pool shallow in a risk assessment without a depth.

Meaning

Not deep; also not showing serious thought.

Examples

• “A shallow sample of five tweets is not a content analysis.”
• “Stay out of the shallow creeks at low tide, which is the depth sense.”

Good to know

shallow water / soil / analysis; a shallow + noun. Opposite: deep. Essay twin: superficial. Trap: hollow / shadow. Methods and geography. Not deep, in water or thought.

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