shadow cabinet

noun

A senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government.

“Meronym: shadow minister”

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Meanings

shadow cabinet1

nounshadow cabinet (plural shadow cabinets)

plural shadow cabinets

  1. alternativeAlternative form of Shadow Cabinet.

Shadow Cabinet2

nounShadow Cabinet (plural Shadow Cabinets)

plural Shadow Cabinets

  1. A senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government.

    Meronym: shadow minister

    2 more examples

    Holonym: shadow government

    In April, Sir Keir Starmer replaced Corbyn as Labour leader and set about creating his own shadow cabinet.

    2020 June 17, Jim McMahon tells Richard Clinnick, “Stepping out of the shadows”, in Rail, page 39

Origin

See shadow government.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 影子內閣 /影子内阁
  • 影子內閣 /影子内阁 (yǐngzi nèigé)a senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Czech stínová vláda
  • stínová vládaa senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Danish skyggekabinet
  • skyggekabineta senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Dutch schaduwkabinet
  • schaduwkabineta senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Finnish varjohallitus
  • varjohallitusa senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
French cabinet fantôme
  • cabinet fantômea senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
German Schattenkabinett
  • Schattenkabinetta senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Greek σκιώδης κυβέρνηση
  • σκιώδης κυβέρνηση (skiódis kyvérnisi)a senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Hungarian árnyékkabinet
  • árnyékkabineta senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Indonesian kabinet bayangan
  • kabinet bayangana senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Italian governo ombra
  • governo ombraa senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Malay kabinet bayangan
  • kabinet bayangana senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Norwegian Bokmål skyggekabinett, skyggeregjering
  • skyggekabinetta senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
  • skyggeregjeringa senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Polish gabinet cieni
  • gabinet cienia senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Portuguese gabinete paralelo
  • gabinete paraleloa senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Russian теневое прави́тельство
  • теневое прави́тельство (tenevoje pravítelʹstvo)a senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Spanish gabinete en la sombra
  • gabinete en la sombraa senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Swedish skuggkabinett
  • skuggkabinetta senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Ukrainian тіньовий уряд
  • тіньовий уряд (tinʹovyj urjad)a senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Vietnamese nội các bóng tối
  • nội các bóng tốia senior group of opposition politicians who shadow the members of the government
Cite this entry
APA

shadow cabinet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shadow%20cabinet

MLA

“shadow cabinet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shadow%20cabinet. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shadow cabinet,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shadow%20cabinet.

Source: shadow cabinet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.