faded
Americanadjective
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having lost brightness, intensity, volume, etc., as of light, color, or sound.
She was wearing a faded polyester skirt.
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having lost freshness, vigor, strength, or health.
Regular removal of faded flowers is often needed to keep annuals blooming.
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having gradually disappeared or died out.
The movie’s main theme is the resuscitation of faded love.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of faded
Explanation
Faded things have lost the bright color they once had. Your faded jeans, once dark blue but now pale and worn, might be your favorite thing to wear. Clothes become faded after being worn and washed again and again, and in many places the landscape itself seems faded in the wintertime, all dull grays and pale browns. Strength, energy, or vitality can also become faded, like a boxer toward the end of a long match. The Old French root of faded is fader, "become weak," from fade, "weak, pale, or insipid."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More troubling, the survival benefit faded among older patients.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
The chip maker’s initial gains early this week on the back of the unveiling of its RTX Spark processor for the consumer PC market have faded.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
“We’ve had some great things, like bookstores and eateries that have flourished sometimes for a decade or two, but it faded out,” Kuntz said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
Where trading once bustled until late morning, activity now faded by 8am.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
There’s a maroon one that’s in decent shape and a faded blue one that must have lost some of its beans.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
