lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center; "shallow water"; "a shallow dish"; "a shallow cut"; "a shallow closet"; "established a shallow beachhead"; "hit the ball to shallow left field"
not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply; "shallow breathing"; "a night of shallow fretful sleep"; "in a shallow trance"
lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious; "shallow people"; "his arguments seemed shallow and tedious"
characterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is; "madness, an ironic fate for such a clear thinker"; "it was ironical that the well-planned scheme failed so completely"