fade

[ feyd ]

/ feɪd /

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See synonyms for: fade / faded / fading on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), fad·ed, fad·ing.

to lose brightness or vividness of color.

to become dim, as light, or lose brightness of illumination.

to lose freshness, vigor, strength, or health: The tulips have faded.

to disappear or die gradually (often followed by away or out): His anger faded away.

Movies, Television.

to appear gradually, especially by becoming lighter (usually followed by in).
to disappear gradually, especially by becoming darker (usually followed by out).

Broadcasting, Recording.

to increase gradually in volume of sound, as in recording or broadcasting music, dialogue, etc. (usually followed by in).
to decrease gradually in volume of sound (usually followed by out).

Football. (of an offensive back, especially a quarterback) to move back toward one's own goal line, usually with the intent to pass, after receiving the snapback from center or a hand-off or lateral pass behind the line of scrimmage (usually followed by back): The quarterback was tackled while fading back for a pass.

(of an automotive brake) to undergo brake fade.

verb (used with object), fad·ed, fad·ing.

to cause to fade: Sunshine faded the drapes.

Movies, Television.

to cause (a scene) to appear gradually (usually followed by in).
to cause (a scene) to disappear gradually (usually followed by out).

Broadcasting, Recording. to cause (the volume of sound) to increase or decrease gradually (usually followed by in or out).

(in dice throwing) to make a wager against (the caster).

noun

an act or instance of fading.

Movies, Television Informal. a fade-out.

a style of short haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is all one length, while the hair on the sides and back of the head is closely cut or shaved to a gradually shorter length from top to bottom, giving the appearance of the hair shading from darker to lighter.

Automotive. brake fade.

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Origin of fade

First recorded in 1275–1325; 1915–20 for def. 5; Middle English faden, derivative of fade “pale, dull,” from Anglo-French, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin fatidus, for Latin fatuus fatuous

synonym study for fade

4. See disappear.

OTHER WORDS FROM fade

fad·a·ble, adjectivepre·fade, verb (used with object), pre·fad·ed, pre·fad·ing.un·fad·a·ble, adjectiveun·fad·ing, adjective

Words nearby fade

fad, Fadden, faddish, faddist, faddy, fade, fadeaway, faded, fade-in, fadeless, fade-out

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fade in a sentence

A crushing way to lose, but in comparison to all the fades into summers past, it was a compelling way to go out.
These Wizards are many things as they enter the playoffs. Afraid is not one of them.|Barry Svrluga|May 21, 2021|Washington Post
If your brakes change feeling on long descents, with the lever pull increasing or decreasing, or if they experience a major fade in power, it’s time for a bleed.
Maintenance That Will Prep Your Bike for Spring|Joe Lindsey|March 29, 2021|Outside Online
The novel, which is set in the United States at some undetermined point in the future, follows Klara throughout almost her entire life-cycle from the shop floor to life with her adopted family to her eventual “slow fade.”
Kazuo Ishiguro on How His New Novel Klara and the Sun Is a Celebration of Humanity|Dan Stewart|March 2, 2021|Time
Brown outmaneuvered Humphrey on a fade pattern to catch Tannehill’s lob into the end zone.
Lamar Jackson gets his first playoff victory as Ravens hold Titans’ Derrick Henry to 40 yards|Mark Maske|January 10, 2021|Washington Post

Once the base coat is dry I will apply shadows, fades and highlights with an airbrush.
Making Halloween Masks That Don’t Suck|Eugene Robinson|October 16, 2020|Ozy
But for those on the Israeli right who are hoping that this deferred dream will just fade away, they can forget it.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead|Dean Obeidallah|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was briefly scared into eating regularly, but all too soon, the fears fade and my old habits return.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the sunlight is threatening to fade and a three-and-a-half-hour river journey back to Kisangani looms.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If a Queen did cheat, her crimes fade into insignificance compared to the extensive philandering engaged in by medieval monarchs.
The Sex Life of King Richard III's Randy Great Great Great Grandfather|Tom Sykes|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We can hope that it begins to fade, just as the air seems to finally be leaking out of Black Friday.
The Cult of Pappy van Winkle|Eric Felten|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In contrast to the Widal, it begins to fade about the end of the second week, and soon thereafter entirely disappears.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Her hope persisted until half-past nine: it then began to fade, and, at ten o'clock, was extinct.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Then I said to myself in answer to the poet, "Here's the cheek that doth not fade, too much gazed at."
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd
His thoughts grew dreadfully confused, and his confidence in himself began to fade.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
On this light being covered again the figure would apparently fade away.
Dope|Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for fade

fade

/ (feɪd) /

verb

to lose or cause to lose brightness, colour, or clarity

(intr) to lose freshness, vigour, or youth; wither

(intr; usually foll by away or out) to vanish slowly; die out

to decrease the brightness or volume of (a television or radio programme or film sequence) or (of a television programme, etc) to decrease in this way
to decrease the volume of (a sound) in a recording system or (of a sound) to be so reduced in volume

(intr) (of the brakes of a vehicle) to lose power

to cause (a golf ball) to move with a controlled left-to-right trajectory or (of a golf ball) to veer gradually from left to right

noun

the act or an instance of fading

Derived forms of fade

fadable, adjectivefadedness, nounfader, noun

Word Origin for fade

C14: from fade (adj) dull, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin fatidus (unattested), probably blend of Latin vapidus vapid + Latin fatuus fatuous

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fade

Origin of fade

synonym study for fade

OTHER WORDS FROM fade

Words nearby fade

Words related to fade

How to use fade in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fade

Derived forms of fade

Word Origin for fade