faded

American

[fay-did] / ˈfeɪ dɪd /

adjective

having lost brightness, intensity, volume, etc., as of light, color, or sound.

She was wearing a faded polyester skirt.
having lost freshness, vigor, strength, or health.

Regular removal of faded flowers is often needed to keep annuals blooming.
having gradually disappeared or died out.

The movie’s main theme is the resuscitation of faded love.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of fade.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of faded

fade ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

See Examples For:

faded

That conception of Elvis has also faded in recent years, in no small part thanks to Baz Luhrmann’s glitzy, campy 2022 biopic.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

The party sat out the 1933 election and faded into obscurity, though it formed a coalition government with the Liberals in 1945 and won a few seats in the 1970s and 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Hadjar was just 0.036secs behind the four-time champion while the Ferraris faded when it mattered, as they have so many times this season.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Reassuring comments from Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on CoreWeave's financial health provided some support to Asia on Friday but that optimism faded as the new week started.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026