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
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.
Any thoughts Tottenham had of landing a blow to dent their rivals' title hopes soon faded as Arsenal went into the break 2-0 up and made it three seconds into the second half.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Among them, a worn “Army of Alphabetizers” badge from Cuba’s 1961 literacy campaign, its lettering nearly faded.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
But the gains following Thursday’s vote have quickly faded, with Bitcoin now at its lowest level since May began.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
This helped researchers rule out competing theories, including the idea that the material came from older supernova explosions that slowly faded over millions of years.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
The screen door hangs open, bumps against the garbage bin, and the mailbox clings lopsided to the faded milky coffee–colored clapboard that wraps the house.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
