fade-out

[feyd-out]

noun

1. Movies, Television.,  a gradual decrease in the visibility of a scene.

2. Broadcasting, Recording.,  a gradual decrease in the volume of sound, especially of recorded or broadcast music, dialogue, or the like, usually ending in complete inaudibility.

3. a gradual disappearance or reduction.

   the fade-out of a brilliant career.

fade-out

noun

1. films an optical effect in which a shot slowly disappears into darkness

2. a gradual reduction in signal strength in a radio or television broadcast

3. a gradual and temporary loss of a received radio or television signal due to atmospheric disturbances, magnetic storms, etc

4. a slow or gradual disappearance

verb

1. to decrease or cause to decrease gradually, as vision or sound in a film or broadcast

Word History and Origins

Origin of fade out¹

First recorded in 1915–20; noun use of verb phrase fade out

Idioms and Phrases

Gradually disappear or become inaudible; also, cause to disappear or become inaudible gradually. For example, He let the final chord fade out completely before he played the next movement . The antonym is fade in , “to appear gradually or become audible,” as in The images on the screen faded in until they could be seen clearly . These terms originated in the motion-picture and broadcasting industries, where they apply to images and sounds. [c. 1915]

Also, fade away . Quietly depart, as in “Florence Scape, Fanny Scape and their mother faded away to Boulogne” (William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair , 1848). [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

As host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the comedian has been successful, receiving critical praise and leading the program to regularly becoming the top-rated late-night show, outpacing his younger rivals Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel — albeit against the backdrop of what Reuters termed “late-night TV’s fade-out.”

From Salon

“He mastered the close-up, the fade-out. No one ever called him David because everyone had the greatest respect for him. He was always Mr. Griffith.”

From Los Angeles Times

It seemed an appropriate sort of fade-out for the deluge of Friday.

From Washington Post

There is a sense of resignation or fade-out in the script’s formation, as if the word were not worth completing, the gods having long since departed.

From Washington Post

Just to keep things off- balance, every now and then the band adds an extra beat, while a long, gradual fade-out suggests she’s still a little reluctant to move on.

From New York Times

Related Words

• deteriorate 
• disappear 
• end 
• expire 
• fail 
• fall 
• pass 
• stop 
• vanish