pale

modif.

1. Wan

   pallid, wan, ashen, ashy, pasty, waxen, sickly, anemic, colorless, bloodless, livid, ghastly, cadaverous, haggard, deathlike, ghostly, spectral, white, gray, sallow, etiolated, blanched, whey-faced, drained, peaked, washed-out*, white as a sheet*, green around the gills*.

2. Lacking color or intensity

   bleached, light, pastel, soft, soft-hued, creamy, whitish, dim, faint, faded, feeble, chalky, washed-out.

pale, in this comparison the least connotative of these words, implies merely an unnatural whiteness or colorlessness, often temporary, of the complexion; pallid suggests a paleness resulting from exhaustion, faintness, emotional strain, etc.; wan suggests the paleness resulting from an emaciating illness; ashen implies the grayish paleness of the skin as in death; livid refers to a grayish-blue complexion, as of one in great rage or fear, but is also sometimes used now of a white or red complexion

pale

v.