fade
Weak; insipid; tasteless.
Adjective archaic
- Weak; insipid; tasteless.
- 1825, Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, review of Theodric by Thomas Campbell Passages that are somewhat fade.
- 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
Origin
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”).
Forms
Adjective archaic
- Strong; bold; doughty.
Origin
From Middle English fade, fede, of uncertain origin. Compare Old English ġefæd (“orderly, tidy, discreet, well-regulated”). See also fad.
Forms
Noun
- 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...
- 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
- 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).
- 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:
Forms
Derived
antifade anti-fade autofade brain fade brake fade Brooklyn fade catch a fade color fade crossfade drop fade fadable fadeable fade-away fade in fadeless fade-out fadeproof fadesome fade time fady Philly fade quality fade taper fade temple fade
Verb
- 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:
- 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:
- To lose freshness, color, or brightness; to become faint in hue or tint; hence, to be wanting in color.
- [flowers] that never fade - 1667, 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;...
- 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...
- 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...
- 1856, Eleanor Marx-Aveling (translator), Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter XI, A strange thing was that Bovary, while continually thinking of Emma, was forgetting her. He grew desperate as he felt this...
- To cause to fade.
- 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:
Forms
Synonyms
Derived
antifader beauty fades, dumb is forever crossfade fade away fade in fadeometer fade out fade to black fade to white fadometer neverfade prefade