Jump To:

• 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.

---

washed out British  

adjective

1. faded or colourless

2. exhausted, esp when being pale in appearance

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of washed-out

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

But I also looked in at myself as a mother through the leaded-glass pane of our very lovely living-room windows, and I saw a washed-out woman worn down to the thinnest thread.

From Slate • Jul. 6, 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

In Jamaica, the impact was most severe in the southwestern parish of St Elizabeth, where knee-deep mud and washed-out bridges left towns such as Black River cut off.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

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

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2025

Her eyes were puffy slits rimmed with washed-out mascara.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin