faded

American  

[fey-did] / ˈfeɪ dɪd /

adjective

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

   She was wearing a faded polyester skirt.

2. having lost freshness, vigor, strength, or health.

   Regular removal of faded flowers is often needed to keep annuals blooming.

3. having gradually disappeared or died out.

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

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of fade.

Other Word Forms

• fadedly
  adverb
• fadedness
  noun
• unfaded
  adjective
• well-faded
  adjective

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."

Example Sentences

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

But as the day went on, that relief faded.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

As Don and I grew closer, my desire to return to New York faded.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

These and plenty of other major names—Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson—sit alongside works by artists who have faded from memory but remain equally attention-grabbing.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

As we drive farther from the highway, a strip mall comes into view, and a faded red-and-white sign greets us with block letters.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• run down
• seedy
• shabby
• tacky
• tattered
• threadbare
• worn