Link Centre Dictionary

pale

US/peɪl/ common
adjective (5) noun (1) verb (1)

adjective

1.

very light colored; highly diluted with white

  • “pale seagreen”
  • “pale blue eyes”
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2.

(of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble

  • “the pale light of a half moon”
  • “a pale sun”
  • “the late afternoon light coming through the el tracks fell in pale oblongs on the street”
  • “a pallid sky”
  • “the pale (or wan) stars”
  • “the wan light of dawn”
Synonyms
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3.

lacking in vitality or interest or effectiveness

  • “a pale rendition of the aria”
  • “pale prose with the faint sweetness of lavender”
  • “a pallid performance”
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4.

abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress

  • “the pallid face of the invalid”
  • “her wan face suddenly flushed”
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5.

not full or rich

  • “high, pale, pure and lovely song”
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noun

1.

a wooden strip forming part of a fence

Synonyms

verb

1.

turn pale, as if in fear

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English pale, from Old French pale, from Latin pallidus (“pale, pallid”), from palleō (“to be pale; to grow pale; to fade”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelito-, from *pelH- (“gray”).

Phrases

  • American pale ale
  • beyond the pale
  • deathly pale
  • double India pale ale
  • English pale
  • English pale ale
  • go beyond the pale
  • green and pale
  • imperial India pale ale
  • India pale ale
  • pale by comparison
  • pale in comparison

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.