fade

UK/feɪd/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/fæɪd/

fade adjective: weak; insipid; tasteless.

Adjective (1)

fade (comparative fader, superlative fadest)

(archaic) Weak; insipid; tasteless.
- Passages that are somewhat fade.1825, Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, review of Theodric by Thomas Campbell
- His masculine taste gave him a sense of something fade and ludicrous.1827, Thomas De Quincey, “The Last Days of Kant”, in Blackwood's Magazine
Synonyms:

dull

Noun

fade (plural fades)

A golf shot that curves intentionally to the player's right (if they are right-handed) or to the left (if left-handed).
- If you confine yourself to hitting straight shots while you are developing your golf swing, you are less likely to develop a preference for hitting a fade or a draw.2011, James Lythgoe, The Golf Swing: It's all in the hands, page 88
A haircut where the hair is short or shaved on the sides of the head and longer on top. See also high-top fade and low fade.

Synonyms:

skin fade
(slang) A fight.
A gradual decrease in the brightness of a shot or the volume of sound or music (as a means of cutting to a new scene or starting a new song).
(slang) The act of disappearing from a place so as not to be found; covert departure.
- Ace could have done a fade. Instead, he gathered all his courage — which was not inconsiderable, even in his middle age — and went to see the Flying Corson Brothers.1991, Stephen King, Needful Things

Verb

fade (third-person singular simple present fades, present participle fading, simple past and past participle faded)

(transitive) To hit the ball with the shot called a fade.
- The Golden Bear faded the ball from left to right with great consistency, so he seldom had to worry about trouble on the left.2011, Gary McCord, Golf For Dummies, page 284
(intransitive) To grow weak; to lose strength; to decay; to perish gradually; to wither, as a plant.
- The earth mourneth and fadeth away.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 24:4
Synonyms:

weaken, wither
(intransitive) To lose freshness, color, or brightness; to become faint in hue or tint; hence, to be wanting in color.
- [flowers] that never fade1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. To display them the walls had been tinted a vivid blue which had now faded, but the carpet, which had evidently been stored and recently relaid, retained its original turquoise.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
Synonyms:

blanch, bleach
(intransitive) To sink away; to disappear gradually; to grow dim; to vanish.
- The milkman's whistling faded into the distance.
- He makes a swanlike end, / Fading in music.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Synonyms:

decrease, diminish, wane
(transitive) To cause to fade.
(transitive) To bet against (someone).
- I tried to get some bets that y'all were fixin' to get married but nobody would fade me.2016, Johnny Hughes, A Texas Beauty, Smart and Strong

Adjective (2)

fade (comparative fader or more fade, superlative fadest or most fade)

(archaic) Strong; bold; doughty.

fade meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

fade in Hindi

to fade, to wither, to dry up,: मरना marnā
to fade, dim; to be sad: मुरझाना murjhānā
to fade or wane in intensity: पड़ना paṛnā

fade in Tamil

மங்கலாகு, மங்கிய, மங்கு, மறைவுறு, வதங்கு, வாடு

fade in Marathi

to fade, wither: कोंबणे kombṇe, कोमजणे komaj̈ṇe

fade in Urdu

غائب ہونا, کملانا, مرجھانا, پھیکا پڑنا, رنگ اڑنا, زوال پذیر ہونا

More languagesFewer languages

fade in Bengali: বিবর্ণ হওয়া, ম্লান হওয়া
fade in Telugu: వాడు vāḍu, వెలియు veliyu
fade in Malayalam: മറയുക
fade in Kannada: ಬಣ್ಣಗುಂದು, ಕಾಂತಿಹೀನವಾಗು, ಮಾಸಿಹೋಗು, ಮಸುಕಾಗು
fade in Punjabi: کھرنا khurnā
fade in Nepali: निभ्नु nibhnu, उड्नु uḍnu
fade in Vietnamese: nhòa

Examples of fade in a sentence

Ad Herennium 4.27.38: "Either with disease beauty fades or with time."
The new console supports pannings and fades.
After the rash of measles fades, there is desquamation.

All 40 example sentences with fade

Synonyms of fade

All synonyms of fade

Forms of fade

Adjective
comparative	fader
superlative	fadest
comparative	more fade
superlative	most fade
Noun
plural	fades
Verb
third-person singular present	fades
present participle	fading
past participle	faded
past	faded
alternative form (obsolete)	vade

Past tense of fade: faded

Plural of fade: fades

Origin of fade

From Middle English fade, vad, vade (“faded, pale, withered, weak”), from Middle Dutch vade (“weak, faint, limp”), from Old French fade (“weak, witless”), of obscure origin. Probably from Vulgar Latin *fatidus, from Latin fatuus (“insipid”).

From Middle English fade, fede, of uncertain origin. Compare Old English ġefæd (“orderly, tidy, discreet, well-regulated”). See also fad.

Words formed from fade

Phrases with fade

Words that rhyme with fade

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about fade

What does fade mean?: Fade means weak; insipid; tasteless.
What is fade in Hindi?: Fade in Hindi is मरना (marnā), मुरझाना (murjhānā), पड़ना (paṛnā). See Fade meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is fade?: Fade can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce fade?: Fade is pronounced /feɪd/ (UK).

Words near fade in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-fade.ogg.

Cite this entry: “fade.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fade. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.