fade

verb \ ˈfād \

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

Definition of fade

faded; fading

intransitive verb

1 : to lose freshness, strength, or vitality : wither

fading flowers

2 : to lose freshness or brilliance of color

The fabrics faded in the strong sunshine.

3 : to sink away : vanish

a fading memory

The smile faded from his face.

4 : to change gradually in loudness, strength, or visibility —used of a motion-picture image or of an electronics signal and usually with in or out

One scene fades out as the next scene fades in.

The radio signal faded out as we got further away from the station.

5 of an automobile brake : to lose braking power gradually

6 : to move back from the line of scrimmage —used of a quarterback

7 of a ball or shot : to move in a slight to moderate slice

transitive verb

: to cause to fade

time has not completely faded the humor of these verses
—G. H. Genzmer

—

fader

noun

See fade defined for English-language learners

See fade defined for kids

Examples of fade in a Sentence

The flowers were fading in the vase.
the fading light of late afternoon
She was fading fast from the effects of the pneumonia.
We watched the ship gradually fade from view as it sailed away.
The smile faded from his face.
Hopes for a quick end of the crisis are fading fast.
Their reasons for leaving have faded from memory.
He's trying to recapture the faded glory of his youth.
The band's popularity has faded in recent years.
The fabric will fade unless you protect it from the sunlight.

Recent Examples of fade from the Web

That sort of Sunday normalcy would fade away quickly if Garcetti decides to run for president.

— maeve reston and video by gabe ramirez, CNN, "Why LA's Mexican-American-Jewish-Italian mayor is spending time in Iowa and South Carolina," 21 Apr. 2018
But if the taboo on chemical weapons is allowed to fade away, other despots will be tempted to use them, too.

— The Economist, "If Syria’s despot is not punished, others will use chemical weapons," 12 Apr. 2018
The Pels even held leads of 14 or more points in each of their first three games against the Warriors this season, just to see them fade away in the second half and end in losses.

— NOLA.com, "7 things we learned from Pelicans' huge win over Warriors," 8 Apr. 2018
The researchers point to La Nina, a global climate phenomenon which forecasters think could fade away over the next few months.

— leigh morgan, AL.com, "What will hurricane season 2018 bring? CSU researchers release predictions," 5 Apr. 2018
The print media is so left wing as to be meaningless dribble which accounts for why the industry is and will fade away.

— olivia nuzzi, Daily Intelligencer, "Sinclair Chairman Claims Entire Print Media Has ‘No Credibility’," 3 Apr. 2018
Memorial raced down the floor and Henry Smith made a 25-foot 3-pointer fading away from the corner with Healy in his face.

— mike hutton, Post-Tribune, "Brandon Newman fouls out as Valparaiso falls to Elkhart Memorial in overtime," 10 Mar. 2018
Some burn out in massive detonations visible clear across the cosmos; others fade away, thought to leave behind planet-size carbon corpses crystalized into diamond.

— yasemin saplakoglu, Scientific American, "Watch Now: The Weirdest Stars in the Universe," 8 Mar. 2018
The chilly-to-cold weather that has dominated San Diego for nearly two weeks will finally fade away this week as daytime highs climb into the 70s for the first time since mid-February.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego to get back into 70s after two weeks of chilly weather," 4 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of fade

Middle English, from Anglo-French *fader, from fade feeble, insipid, from Vulgar Latin *fatidus, alteration of Latin fatuus fatuous, insipid

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

fade Synonyms

fade

noun

Definition of fade

1 a : fade-out

b : a gradual changing of one picture to another in a motion-picture or television sequence

2 : a fading of an automobile brake

3 : a slight to moderate and usually intentional slice in golf

4 : a hairstyle similar to a crew cut in which the hair on top of the head stands high

See fade defined for English-language learners

Examples of fade in a Sentence

The movie ends with a fade to black.

Recent Examples of fade from the Web

Grooming-wise, Legend keeps it simple with a low fade cut leaving some length on the sides and top.

— lamar dawson, GQ, "5 Subtle Grooming Flexes You Can Learn from John Legend," 27 Mar. 2018
Whether David Price can recover from a forgettable season and Chris Sale can avoid another late-season fade will determine whether the Red Sox wind up as the center of the baseball universe.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "Early optimism: A division-by-division look at all the National and American league teams," 26 Mar. 2018
An outcry and calls for action on gun control, followed by a slow fade of the tragedy from the national headlines as the mourning community is left to pick up the pieces on its own.

— chuck todd, NBC News, "How Trump took advantage of Russian interference: Amplifying Wikileaks," 19 Feb. 2018
That improbable effort, a fade from the sand with a tight landing zone in front of the green, a front porch protected by a staggering five bunkers, resulted in an 18½-foot putt.

— bryce miller, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Jon Rahm's 'shot of my career' not the one Farmers fans recall," 9 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of fade

derivative of ¹fade

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1918

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Broadcasting Terms

continuity, dissolve, feed, remote, residual, spike, wipe

fade

adjective \ ˈfäd \

Definition of fade

: insipid, commonplace

Origin and Etymology of fade

Middle English, from Anglo-French

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Financial Definition of FADE

fade

noun

What It Is

A fade is an investment strategy devoted to doing the opposite of the prevailing wisdom. In the brokerage sector, it also refers to a dealer's inability or refusal to fill an order at the prevailing bid/ask spread the dealer has published (that is, the dealer "fades" from trading).

How It Works

Fade investors love to do what's out of favor. They tend to buy when everyone else is selling, sell when everyone else is buying, and wait when everyone else is active. The result is that the contrarian often buys a cheap security that everyone else is calling a dog and sells a security that everyone else is clamoring to get into.

Fade investors often look for stocks with low price-to-earnings ratios. When the market goes up, they sometimes prefer value stocks to growth stocks; when the market goes down, they often favor growth stocks over value stocks.

The Dogs of the Dow strategy is a popular fade strategy whereby investors purchase the highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Remember, a stock has to pay a relatively high dividend and have a relatively low stock price to have a high dividend yield. When any of the investor's stocks rise in price so much that they are no longer one of the ten highest dividend-yield stocks, he sells them, capturing the gain and reinvesting the proceeds in the newest "dog."

Why It Matters

Fade investors zig when everyone else zags. They have strong stomachs, a sense of independence, and an ability to resist the temptations of going with the crowd. That can mean picking up a few dogs, and that can mean sticking with a stock if it has become a dog. Fade investors are not always right, but the philosophy has attracted many happy investors over the years. Even Burton Malkiel, who developed the random walk theory, which says there is no reliable way to beat the market in the long run, acknowledges that contrarian strategies can be successful. They tend to outperform other trading strategies because market reversals are often based on economic facts rather than investor psychology.

It is important to note that fade investing often works best for investors who have thoroughly analyzed the fundamentals of the companies they invest in. Companies with solid management teams, innovative products, efficient processes and good profit margins can often weather being unpopular with the crowd.

Source: Investing Answers