cloud vs shadow

cloud

noun
  • A dark spot on a lighter material or background. 

  • Crystal methamphetamine. 

  • A negative or foreboding aspect of something positive: see every cloud has a silver lining or every silver lining has a cloud. 

  • The Internet, regarded as an abstract amorphous omnipresent space for processing and storage, the focus of cloud computing. 

  • A large, loosely-knitted headscarf worn by women. 

  • A telecom network (from their representation in engineering drawings) 

  • Anything which makes things foggy or gloomy. 

  • A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. 

  • Anything unsubstantial. 

  • A group or swarm, especially suspended above the ground or flying. 

  • Any mass of dust, steam or smoke resembling such a mass. 

  • An elliptical shape or symbol whose outline is a series of semicircles, supposed to resemble a cloud. 

verb
  • To make less acute or perceptive. 

  • To make gloomy or sullen. 

  • To become marked, darkened or variegated in this way. 

  • To make obscure. 

  • To become foggy or gloomy, or obscured from sight. 

  • To overspread or hide with a cloud or clouds. 

  • To mark with, or darken in, veins or sports; to variegate with colors. 

  • To blacken; to sully; to stain; to tarnish (reputation or character). 

  • Of the breath, to become cloud; to turn into mist. 

shadow

noun
  • A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. 

  • A small degree; a shade. 

  • An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one. 

  • Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity. 

  • That which looms as though a shadow. 

  • A area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight). 

  • One who secretly or furtively follows another. 

  • An inseparable companion. 

  • A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc. 

  • A spirit; a ghost; a shade. 

  • An unconscious aspect of the personality. 

  • A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer. 

  • An imperfect and faint representation. 

verb
  • To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up. 

  • To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first. 

  • To hide; to conceal. 

  • To represent faintly and imperfectly. 

  • To shade, cloud, or darken. 

  • To block light or radio transmission from. 

  • To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance. 

  • To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM). 

adj
  • Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were. 

  • Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized. 

  • Part of, or related to, the opposition in government. 

  • Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized. 

How often have the words cloud and shadow occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )