pale Definition

pale¹
adj paler, palest

1. Said of a person, face, etc: having less colour than normal, eg from illness, fear, shock, etc.

Thesaurus: pallid, sallow, ashen, wan, pasty, faint, waxy, chalky, bloodless, colourless, faded, washed-out, weak; Antonym: ruddy.
2. Said of a colour: whitish; closer to white than black; light.

Example: pale-green
3. Lacking brightness or vividness; subdued.

Example: pale sunlight

verb, intr paled, paling

1. To become pale.

Thesaurus: blanch, whiten; Antonym: blush, colour.
2. To fade or become weaker or less significant.

Example: My worries pale by comparison
Thesaurus: fade, diminish, lessen.

Derivative: palely
adverb

Derivative: paleness
noun

Derivative: palish
adj

Somewhat pale; quite pale.

Idiom: pale into insignificance

To become relatively unimportant in comparison with something else.

Etymology: 13c: from French palle, from Latin pallidus, from pallere to be pale.

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pale²
noun

1. A wooden or metal post or stake used for making fences.
2. A fence made of these; a boundary fence.
3. heraldry.
A broad stripe on a shield extending from top to bottom.

Derivative: paly
adj

Divided by vertical lines.

Idiom: beyond the pale

Outside the limits of acceptable behaviour; intolerable. See also paling.

Etymology: 14c: from Latin palus stake.