washed-out

[ wosht-out, wawsht- ]

adjective

1. faded, especially from washing.
2. Informal.
   1. weary; exhausted.
   2. tired-looking; wan.

washed out

adjective

1. faded or colourless
2. exhausted, esp when being pale in appearance

Word History and Origins

Origin of washed-out¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

In addition to all the debris that washed out, that takes a pretty big toll on the fish.

From The Daily Beast

Washed out campaign posters of President Mohammed Morsi still hang on run-down buildings around the Sharqeyya governorate.

From The Daily Beast

My third roommate (the first two washed out) was a soft-looking Mexican American who seemed to be failing everything.

From The Daily Beast

We live in a washed-out PC world where nobody in government wants to say the wrong thing so they say nothing at all.

From The Daily Beast

“In the West, you take a couple Valium, you get taken to the ER and washed out, and you go home,” Phillips told The Daily Beast.

From The Daily Beast

If it be suspected that the stomach will not be empty, it should be washed out with water the evening before.

From Project Gutenberg

A German receiver can be washed out like a teacup, and the oil collected is of value, but a meerschaum should never be wetted.

From Project Gutenberg

When it was the bed of the stream, gold was being ground out, washed out and carried down stream from the quartz-gold veins above.

From Project Gutenberg

They should be washed out and dried quickly after its application in order to make this method most effective.

From Project Gutenberg

There was Hale's little frame cottage and his name, half washed out, was over the wing that was still his office.

From Project Gutenberg