fade

verb

\ ˈfād

faded; fading

Definition of fade

(Entry 1 of 3)

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

fade

noun

Definition of fade (Entry 2 of 3)

1a : 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

fade

adjective

\ ˈfäd

Definition of fade (Entry 3 of 3)

: insipid, commonplace

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Examples of fade in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

The movie ends with a fade to black.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Some members of the public, meanwhile, are losing patience with the parliamentary process and the fading promises made by pro-Brexit politicians. — Danica Kirka, The Seattle Times, "UK government defiant as Parliament takes control of Brexit," 27 Mar. 2019 The verdict shows how the German company’s $63 billion acquisition of U.S. agriculture giant Monsanto Co.—which was designed to bolster Bayer’s fading... — Ruth Bender, WSJ, "Bayer Shares Fall After Jury Finds Exposure to Roundup Helped Trigger Cancer," 20 Mar. 2019 Coming up from behind fast is a F-16 fighter jet, which flies on ahead and then banks to follow the road, rapidly fading from sight. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "F-16 Fighter Jet Sets off Police Radar," 11 Mar. 2019 But when a dog is involved, all of the Queen's pretenses fade away. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Queen Elizabeth Once Let a Dog Carry Her Handbag," 1 Mar. 2019 Acrylic is stain resistant and easy to clean, fade resistant, and water-repellant. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "The Best Carpet Types for a Perfectly Grounded Space," 13 Feb. 2019 Estimates, though, suggest that momentum will stall this year, partly because of fading windfalls from the tax overhaul. — Jessica Menton, WSJ, "History Shows Rebound May Have More Legs as Dow Extends Rally," 22 Feb. 2019 Other people say that feeling of butterflies fades over time. — Seventeen, "25 Signs You're Really, Really in Love," 14 Feb. 2019 Polyester is extremely stain and fade resistant, and is less expensive than other synthetic carpet types. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "The Best Carpet Types for a Perfectly Grounded Space," 13 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This is what happens when health care fades from the headlines, when the federal government pulls its resources, and nobody steps in — media or celebrity — to educate the public. — Dylan Scott, Vox, "Obamacare enrollment is almost over and sign-ups are lagging," 12 Dec. 2018 Adams can align in multiple places and win on slants, back-shoulders and fades—defining routes in Green Bay’s passing game. — Andy Benoit, SI.com, "True NFL Draft Grades: 2014 Draft, Four Years Later," 8 May 2018 The transition between the two pages wasn't choppy or jarring, but the smooth fade from carousel to recipe ingredients took too long for my liking. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Echo Show 2018 review: Seeing is believing, and there’s a lot more to see," 8 Oct. 2018 Ward covered him straight up in the post, but Wagner spun and hit a perfect one-legged fade-away jumper to push the lead back to six. — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's Moritz Wagner finds his swagger in KO of Michigan State," 13 Jan. 2018 So when the boom drops in the poignant finale, with its haunting fade to black, the symphony’s expressive course registers all the more keenly. — Joshua Kosman, SFChronicle.com, "CD review: Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6," 20 June 2018 Change-up had a lot of fade, a lot of action today. — George Sipple, Detroit Free Press, "Another no-hit bid for Francisco Liriano ends in another Detroit Tigers loss," 20 May 2018 Four plays later, Manning lofted a fade to Burress in the end zone. — Ben Shpigel, New York Times, "They Were Super Bowl Heroes. And Then, in a Blink, They Weren’t.," 1 Feb. 2018 The Hi-Top Fade For one model with natural textured hair, Malige drew from the '80s hi-top fade made famous by supermodel Grace Jones and hip-hop fixtures like Big Daddy Kane. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "Hedi Slimane Just Served Up 6 Radical Haircuts Worth Stealing from His Male Cast at Céline," 29 Sep. 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.

History and Etymology for fade

Verb

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

Noun

derivative of fade entry 1

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French

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Statistics for fade

Last Updated

10 Apr 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for fade

The first known use of fade was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for fade

fade

noun

Financial Definition of fade

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

fade

verb