fade

American  

[fayd] / feɪd /

verb (used without object)

• fades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• faded,
  past participle,  past
• fading
  present participle

1. to lose brightness or vividness of color.

2. to become dim, as light, or lose brightness of illumination.

3. to lose freshness, vigor, strength, or health.

   The tulips have faded.

4. to disappear or die gradually (often followed by away orout ).

   His anger faded away.

5. Movies, Television.

   1. to appear gradually, especially by becoming lighter (usually followed byin ).

   2. to disappear gradually, especially by becoming darker (usually followed byout ).

6. Broadcasting, Recording.

   1. to increase gradually in volume of sound, as in recording or broadcasting music, dialogue, etc. (usually followed byin ).

   2. to decrease gradually in volume of sound (usually followed byout ).

7. Football. (of an offensive back, especially a quarterback) to move back toward one's own goal line, usually with the intent to pass, after receiving the snapback from center or a hand-off or lateral pass behind the line of scrimmage (usually followed byback ).

   The quarterback was tackled while fading back for a pass.

8. (of an automotive brake) to undergo brake fade.

---

verb (used with object)

• fades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• faded,
  past participle,  past
• fading
  present participle

1. to cause to fade.

   Sunshine faded the drapes.

2. Movies, Television.

   1. to cause (a scene) to appear gradually (usually followed byin ).

   2. to cause (a scene) to disappear gradually (usually followed byout ).

3. Broadcasting, Recording. to cause (the volume of sound) to increase or decrease gradually (usually followed by in orout ).

4. (in dice throwing) to make a wager against (the caster).

noun

• fades
  plural

1. an act or instance of fading.

2. Movies, Television Informal. a fade-out.

3. a style of short haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is all one length, while the hair on the sides and back of the head is closely cut or shaved to a gradually shorter length from top to bottom, giving the appearance of the hair shading from darker to lighter.

4. Automotive. brake fade.

fade British  

/ feɪd /

verb

1. to lose or cause to lose brightness, colour, or clarity

2. (intr) to lose freshness, vigour, or youth; wither

3. (intr; usually foll by away or out) to vanish slowly; die out

4. 1. to decrease the brightness or volume of (a television or radio programme or film sequence) or (of a television programme, etc) to decrease in this way

   2. to decrease the volume of (a sound) in a recording system or (of a sound) to be so reduced in volume

5. (intr) (of the brakes of a vehicle) to lose power

6. to cause (a golf ball) to move with a controlled left-to-right trajectory or (of a golf ball) to veer gradually from left to right

---

noun

1. the act or an instance of fading

Synonym Usage

See disappear.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fadedness
  noun
• fader
  noun
• prefade
  verb (used with object)
• fadable
  adjective
• unfadable
  adjective
• unfading
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fades
  plural

Participles

• fading
  present
• faded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fade
  simple
• fades
  simple
• have faded
  perfect
• has faded
  perfect
• am fading
  progressive
• are fading
  progressive
• is fading
  progressive
• have been fading
  perfect progressive
• has been fading
  perfect progressive

Past

• faded
  simple
• had faded
  perfect
• was fading
  progressive
• were fading
  progressive
• had been fading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fade
  simple
• will have faded
  perfect
• will be fading
  progressive
• will have been fading
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fade

First recorded in 1275–1325; 1915–20 fade for def. 5; Middle English faden, derivative of fade “pale, dull,” from Anglo-French, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin fatidus, for Latin fatuus fatuous

Explanation

When things fade, they gradually become less clear or more faint. When you wake up after having a strange dream, its details quickly begin to fade unless you write them down right away. Dreams usually fade once you wake up, and sunlight begins to fade toward the end of the day. Sounds can fade too, as when the music you can hear from a passing car begins to fade as it moves down the road. Disappointments in life can make your hopes and dreams fade, and the smell of cut flowers will eventually fade as well. The Old French root word, fader, means "weaken, wilt, or wither."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fade fades faded fading

Reid’s explanation was that investors may view inflation risk as a near-term shock that will eventually fade or be dealt with by the Fed.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said the latest results show "Nike's brand heat continues to fade and it isn't powerful enough to punch back against more nimble competitors."

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

“The burdens of war and occupation had created a dense web of resentments and suspicions, of grudges and animosities, that did not simply fade away when the fighting ended.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

They indicate that photoevaporation becomes more important as disks age and magnetically driven jets and winds fade.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

The minute she left the hall, she felt its light begin to fade, heard the boy’s disgruntled shouts, but she kept running with the sparkles overhead.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Moments after the final rapid-fire rhythm of Anthrax’s opening number “Caught in a Mosh” fades from the open air of the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., shaggy-headed vocalist Joey Belladonna addresses the audience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Cochrane cautioned that attention to the problem often rises during major El Niño fire seasons and fades once conditions improve.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

But many traditional crafts are now on the brink of extinction, as advances in technology render them obsolete and valuable knowledge fades into the past.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

McElwee’s voice, more mature and stoic than before, fades in.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

Once Axel’s eyes catch the unmistakable white heads, like two glowing circles in the tree, the rest of the world fades away.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

When the movie roles faded — she only made about 20 films in more than 50 years — she found regular work on television beginning in the 1970s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Spices that had faded into the background suddenly become legible again.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

That’s what happened after the pandemic faded away in 2021 and 2022.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

Hopes of a resolution to the Drumcree dispute have faded but have not disappeared completely.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

He’s got messy black hair and he’s wearing a faded T-shirt that says, “The Kooks.”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

"However, instead of fading away, the source continued emitting episodes of soft X-rays for nearly ten minutes."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Her character, however, is fading away in plain sight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

With tanker and refinery capacity curtailed, European inventories depleted and the cushion of higher U.S. exports and lower Chinese imports fading, oil prices look vulnerable to more disruptions, Morgan Stanley warns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

To be sure, the sense of panic that had rattled major U.S. equity indexes early on Monday was already fading in afternoon trading.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

It all felt rather distant and untouchable, fading to smoke around the edges.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• abate
• deteriorate
• dim
• diminish
• disappear
• dissolve
• ebb
• evaporate
• fail
• fall
• lessen
• melt
• peter out
• sink
• vanish
• wane
• weaken
• wilt
• wither