fade
Americanverb (used without object)
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to lose brightness or vividness of color.
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to become dim, as light, or lose brightness of illumination.
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to lose freshness, vigor, strength, or health.
The tulips have faded.
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to disappear or die gradually (often followed by away orout ).
His anger faded away.
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Movies, Television.
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to appear gradually, especially by becoming lighter (usually followed byin ).
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to disappear gradually, especially by becoming darker (usually followed byout ).
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Broadcasting, Recording.
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to increase gradually in volume of sound, as in recording or broadcasting music, dialogue, etc. (usually followed byin ).
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to decrease gradually in volume of sound (usually followed byout ).
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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.
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(of an automotive brake) to undergo brake fade.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to fade.
Sunshine faded the drapes.
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Movies, Television.
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to cause (a scene) to appear gradually (usually followed byin ).
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to cause (a scene) to disappear gradually (usually followed byout ).
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Broadcasting, Recording. to cause (the volume of sound) to increase or decrease gradually (usually followed by in orout ).
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(in dice throwing) to make a wager against (the caster).
noun
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an act or instance of fading.
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Movies, Television Informal. a fade-out.
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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.
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Automotive. brake fade.
verb
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to lose or cause to lose brightness, colour, or clarity
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(intr) to lose freshness, vigour, or youth; wither
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(intr; usually foll by away or out) to vanish slowly; die out
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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
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to decrease the volume of (a sound) in a recording system or (of a sound) to be so reduced in volume
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(intr) (of the brakes of a vehicle) to lose power
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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
Related Words
See disappear.
Other Word Forms
- fadable adjective
- fadedness noun
- fader noun
- prefade verb (used with object)
- unfadable adjective
- unfading adjective
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
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.
The decades-old promise of an affordable sun-drenched sanctuary is fading in the face of high home prices, insurance premiums and property taxes, among other costs.
As in a Newton's cradle, motion in this atomic system continues without fading.
From Science Daily
Housing inventory has already been rising sharply as the lock-in effect fades.
From MarketWatch
That said, they say the friendly macro backdrop may look less appealing toward the end of the year, as fiscal and monetary tailwinds fade while the disruption from AI increases.
From MarketWatch
This was the place where families could raise their children in peace under the deodar cedars and watch the San Gabriels fade to a distinct purple as the sun set.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
