Join free

fade

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

fade¹

  • /feɪd/ Canada, UK, US
  • /fæɪd/ Australia

Rhymes with -eɪd

Where it comes from

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”).

adjective fader · fadest

  1. archaic Weak; insipid; tasteless. 1825, Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, review of Theodric by Thomas Campbell Passages that are somewhat fade.

noun fades

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. slang A fight.
  4. 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).
  5. 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.

verb fades · fading · faded · vade

  1. 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.
  2. intransitive To grow weak; to lose strength; to decay; to perish gradually; to wither, as a plant. The earth mourneth and fadeth away.
  3. intransitive To lose freshness, color, or brightness; to become faint in hue or tint; hence, to be wanting in color. [flowers] that never fade
  4. intransitive To sink away; to disappear gradually; to grow dim; to vanish. The milkman's whistling faded into the distance.
  5. transitive To cause to fade.
  6. transitive To bet against (someone). I tried to get some bets that y'all were fixin' to get married but nobody would fade me.

fade²

  • /feɪd/ Canada, UK, US
  • /fæɪd/ Australia

Rhymes with -eɪd

Where it comes from

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

adjective fader · more fade · fadest · most fade

  1. archaic Strong; bold; doughty.

Talk about this word