fade

verb \ ˈfād \

Updated on: 23 May 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

One of the main reasons for Chelsea's underwhelming performance this season is Morata, who started brightly but faded badly as the pace of the Premier League seemingly passed him by.

— SI.com, "Chelsea Unwilling to Sell Michy Batshuayi to Dortmund But Could Offer Alternative Forward," 18 May 2018
Congress failed to make headway on immigration issues earlier this year, and the urgency to resolve DACA recipients’ status faded when Trump’s effort to end the Obama-era program became entangled in the courts.

— gayle putrich, San Francisco Chronicle, "California Republicans close to forcing vote on DACA bills in House," 17 May 2018
In the era of Bud-Miller-Schlitz — long before craft beer bestowed diversity on the nation’s beer menus — Johnson embraced any possible diversity: imports, the fading regional brands, the occasional local upstarts.

— josh noel, chicagotribune.com, "After 39 years, Quenchers Saloon readies to close its doors," 17 May 2018
The canary yellow paint is faded and peeling on the house set a bit back from Union Hill Road.

— chris graves, Cincinnati.com, "Pike County: Death in the foothills," 15 May 2018
The timepiece’s three smaller dials, originally black when the watch was made in 1969, have naturally faded into a brown toffee color.

— Fortune, "Elvis's Diamond Omega Watch Sold for $1.8 Million at Auction," 15 May 2018
Now laws against marijuana use are gradually disappearing, the stigma fading.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Why the Supreme Court's seismic ruling on sports gambling is a big win and was overdue | Miami Herald," 14 May 2018
But the ultimate closer in the history of the game, playing just his eighth tournament since his comeback from spinal-fusion surgery 13 months ago, faded down the stretch.

— edgar thompson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Webb Simpson holds off Tiger Woods, golf's strongest field to win The Players Championship," 14 May 2018
The 9-year-old girl described her attacker as having a low, fade hair style, a cross tattoo in the middle of his forehead and a teardrop tattoo under his right eye.

— emily lane, NOLA.com, "Boy opens door for man who takes away 9-year-old sister and rapes her: NOPD," 14 May 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

Vignette shots, fade-outs, jump cuts, reverse shots — all began as ideas to try out and, if effective, to keep in mind for the next movie.

— Longreads, "When the Movies Went West," 15 May 2018
But here again, your audience does not need to know how to hit a reverse fade over the water around a tree.

— neil senturia, sandiegouniontribune.com, "What does your audience need to learn? Break it down," 14 May 2018
How to get the look: The short of it is to ask your barber for an extremely tight fade with hard edges (a bit longer) and texture on top.

— garrett munce, GQ, "Donald Glover's Hair," 13 May 2018
From tricky watercolor designs to rainbow gradients to glitter fades—they’ve got it all on lockdown.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "These L.A. Nail Artists Will Make All Your Wildest Nail Dreams Come True," 26 Apr. 2018
The ball went up, a back-shoulder fade toward the front pylon.

— chris solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke working to create 'two-headed monster'," 18 Apr. 2018
Shaun Wade had the pass defense on Jaylen Harris on a fade throw from Martell.

— tim bielik, cleveland.com, "Live updates, chat from Ohio State football's 2018 spring game," 14 Apr. 2018
Cohen probably knew that Shipman was about to catch some fade.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "White North Carolina Candidate Who Once Attended Fish Fry Believes He Has Invitation to Cookout," 12 Apr. 2018
During that span, Aldridge had back-to-back baskets, following an off-balance fade-away jumper with a slam in transition.

— tom orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, "Aldridge powers Spurs to victory," 17 Mar. 2018

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