fade
Americanverb (used without object)
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to lose brightness or vividness of color.
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to become dim, as light, or lose brightness of illumination.
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to lose freshness, vigor, strength, or health.
The tulips have faded.
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to disappear or die gradually (often followed by away orout ).
His anger faded away.
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Movies, Television.
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to appear gradually, especially by becoming lighter (usually followed byin ).
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to disappear gradually, especially by becoming darker (usually followed byout ).
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Broadcasting, Recording.
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to increase gradually in volume of sound, as in recording or broadcasting music, dialogue, etc. (usually followed byin ).
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to decrease gradually in volume of sound (usually followed byout ).
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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 byback ).
The quarterback was tackled while fading back for a pass.
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(of an automotive brake) to undergo brake fade.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to fade.
Sunshine faded the drapes.
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Movies, Television.
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to cause (a scene) to appear gradually (usually followed byin ).
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to cause (a scene) to disappear gradually (usually followed byout ).
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Broadcasting, Recording. to cause (the volume of sound) to increase or decrease gradually (usually followed by in orout ).
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(in dice throwing) to make a wager against (the caster).
noun
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an act or instance of fading.
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Movies, Television Informal. a fade-out.
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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.
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Automotive. brake fade.
verb
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to lose or cause to lose brightness, colour, or clarity
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(intr) to lose freshness, vigour, or youth; wither
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(intr; usually foll by away or out) to vanish slowly; die out
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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
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to decrease the volume of (a sound) in a recording system or (of a sound) to be so reduced in volume
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(intr) (of the brakes of a vehicle) to lose power
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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
Related Words
See disappear.
Other Word Forms
- fadable adjective
- fadedness noun
- fader noun
- prefade verb (used with object)
- unfadable adjective
- unfading adjective
Etymology
Origin of fade
First recorded in 1275–1325; 1915–20 fade 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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Christoph told the BBC that he was wary of giving further interviews while the dust settled on his most recent media push to ensure that "the case didn't fade from public attention".
From BBC
Top military and diplomatic officials often faded to the background.
But such thoughts tend to quickly fade as we get wrapped back up in adult responsibilities and the 9-5 grind.
From BBC
In that scenario, oil would likely spike briefly and then stabilize as the geopolitical premium fades.
From Barron's
In that scenario, oil would likely spike briefly and then stabilize as the geopolitical premium fades.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
