fade Definition
fade (fād)
intransitive verb fad′ed, fad′·ing
- to become less distinct; lose color, brilliance, etc.
- to lose freshness or strength; wither; wane
- to disappear slowly; die out
- to lose braking power: said of brakes that heat and glaze the lining in repeated hard use
- to curve from its direct course
- Radio, TV to vary in intensity: said of a signal
Etymology: ME faden < OFr fader < fade, pale < VL *fatidus, prob. < L fatuus (see fatuous); infl. by vapidus, vapid
transitive verb
- to cause to fade
- ☆ Slang to meet the bet of; cover: a dice player's term
- Golf to deliberately cause (a ball) to slice slightly
fade Idioms
fade back
☆Football to move back from the line of scrimmage, as in order to throw a forward pass
fade in (or out)
☆Film, Radio, TV to appear or cause to appear (or disappear) gradually; make or become more (or less) distinct
fade Synonyms
fade
v.
To lose color or brightness
bleach, tone down, wash out, decolorize, become colorless, blanch, tarnish, dim, dull, discolor, pale, grow dim, flicker, neutralize, become dull, lose luster, achromatize, etiolate. To lose freshness or strength
To diminish in sound
To disappear slowly
evaporate, dissolve, die out; see disappear. See syn. study at disappear.
fade Usage Examples
Object
- grandeur: Linguaphone's flagship shop enjoyed a similar faded grandeur, on the wrong side of the street opposite Harrods.
- jean: She was wearing a revealing black décolleté top and tight, faded jeans.
- glory: It doesn't really matter what the answer is, because the film does capture an ethereal sense of nostalgic longing for faded glory.
- elegance: There is something about the faded elegance that lingers in the mind and lends itself to photography.
- splendor: It definitely had that kind of faded splendor that we were kinda fascinated by.
- spine: A near fine hardback copy in a very good dustjacket which has a partly faded spine.
Preposition: into
- obscurity: Looking out to the north, the world faded into a gray obscurity.
- insignificance: Galloway should resign and fade into the insignificance he deserves, and if he wont go voluntarily he should be removed.
- oblivion: Had it not been for her, the sacrifices made in Karbala might have faded into oblivion.
- mist: Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell.
- background: The lovers, sweet enough, fade quickly into the background.
- shadow: God faded into the shadows of the hospital room like mist in the morning sun while the antibiotics were poured down my veins.
Adjective complement
resistant: The ultra modern vinyl print gives a soft smooth matte finish which is hard wearing, long lasting, crack and fade resistant.
Modifying Another Word
- away: Then they faded away, leaving only the rainbow.
- gradually: Notes on a piano produce a fixed sound when played which do not go up or down but gradually fade away.
- slowly: Last song sang of a ' slowly fading sky growing emerald ' .
Followed by an intransitive particle
away: He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away.
Preposition: in
sunlight: The joints can " creep " open and leak and the color can fade in the sunlight.
Preposition: from
memory: It's amazing how quickly things fade from the memory.
Noun used with modifier
optimization: List Building vs. Search Engine Optimization It seems the excitement about search engine optimization fades in and out from time to time.
Browse dictionary entries near fade
- ‹ faddism
- ‹ faddish
- ‹ fad
- ‹ faculty
- ‹ facultative
- ‹ faculae
- ‹ facture
- ‹ factum
- ‹ factualism
- ‹ factual
- fade-in ›
- fade-out ›
- fadeaway ›
- faded ›
- fadeless ›
- Fadiman, Anne ›
- Fadiman, Clifton ›
- fading ›
- fado ›
- faeces ›

