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• washed-out
  washed-out

  adjective

  faded, especially from washing.
• washed out
  washed out

  adjective

  faded or colourless

washed-out

American  

[wosht-out, wawsht-] / ˈwɒʃtˈaʊt, ˈwɔʃt- /

adjective

1. faded, especially from washing.

2. Informal.

   1. weary; exhausted.

   2. tired-looking; wan.

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washed out British  

adjective

1. faded or colourless

2. exhausted, esp when being pale in appearance

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washed out Idioms  

1. Faded in color; also, lacking animation. For example, This carpet is all washed out from the sun, or He looks all washed out. [Late 1700s; early 1800s] Also see wash out, def. 3.

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Etymology

Origin of washed-out

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Wearing a washed-out prison uniform and sporting a short grey beard, Masud listened as the hearing before judge Dabney L. Friedrich got under way at the District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

Celebrities like Dua Lipa and Lena Dunham have posted wistful, washed-out pictures celebrating the decennial.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

It’s funny how just the grainy, washed-out look of videotape can conjure so much melancholy.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2025

State troopers who found Paxton’s body in his overturned and partially submerged truck had said there were no barriers or warning signs along the washed-out roadway.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2023

You turn in a slow circle, taking in the washed-out yellow-and-green signs pointing to the camping showers.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith