pale

noun \ ˈpāl \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

Definition of pale

1 archaic : palisade, paling

2 a : one of the stakes of a palisade

b : picket 1

3 a : a space or field having bounds : enclosure

The cattle were led into the pale.

b : a territory or district within certain bounds or under a particular jurisdiction

British culture survived even within the Roman pale.

4 : an area or the limits within which one is privileged or protected (as from censure)

conduct that was beyond the pale

5 : a perpendicular stripe on a heraldic shield

See pale defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of pale from the Web

Shin, dressed in a dark suit and a monochromatic tie that matched his pale blue shirt, acknowledged the LG embezzlement case against him, for which he had been convicted and ordered to pay $805,000 in restitution and legal fees.

— james vlahos, GQ, "The Mystery of the Killer Vacation," 18 Apr. 2018
According to Mangel, the Internet challenges his parents faced a decade ago pale in comparison to those of today.

— marshall weiss, Jewish Journal, "Chabad rabbi's son combats smartphone threats to children via Herzliya startup," 11 Apr. 2018
Regina’s fictional protégé, Cady Heron, played by Erika Henningsen, wore a pale pink Theory suit that coincidentally mirrored Fey’s Gabriela Hearst tuxedo dress.

— maria ward, Vogue, "Mean Girls’s Night Out: Inside the Broadway Musical’s Totally Fetch Opening and After-Party," 9 Apr. 2018
That’s just beyond the pale of what would be expected in the 21st, or even the 20th century.

— peter jamison, Washington Post, "Sewage and water leaks in hospital operating rooms cited in lawsuit over patient’s death," 2 Apr. 2018
His pale skin seemed a bit gray, having lost the translucent glow observed during a previous meeting.

— alex castro, The Verge, "Meet the “Lady Gaga of Mathematics” helming France’s AI task force," 28 Mar. 2018
Still, these funds combined pale in comparison to SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund.

— polina marinova, Fortune, "Term Sheet -- Monday, March 26," 26 Mar. 2018
First-year general manager Koby Altman hit the reset button, infusing the roster with young, capable defenders whose resumes pale in comparison to the guys Cleveland sent out.

— aj neuharth-keusch, USA TODAY, "NBA story lines: Eight things to watch during final stretch of regular season," 23 Feb. 2018
Indeed, the deployments the majority loudly touts pale greatly in comparison to the deployments that occurred in the year after the adoption of the 2015 Open Internet Order.

— jon brodkin, Ars Technica, "Here’s Ajit Pai’s “proof” that killing net neutrality created more broadband," 5 Feb. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of pale

Middle English, from Anglo-French pel, pal stake, from Latin palus — more at pole

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

pale

verb

Definition of pale

paled; paling

transitive verb

: to enclose with pales : fence

Recent Examples of pale from the Web

Petty love troubles would pale in comparison to those kinds of life-altering decision predicaments.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Grown-ish Season 1 Finale Recap: "Back & Forth"," 29 Mar. 2018
While Kosovo is plagued with political instability, economic stagnation and a restive Serbian minority, those problems in the long term could pale in comparison to the health challenges the country faces because of poor air quality.

— valerie plesch, USA TODAY, "Tiny nation of Kosovo has air pollution so bad that it rivals Beijing," 28 Mar. 2018
All of these funds combined would pale in comparison to the Vision Fund.

— polina marinova, Fortune, "Term Sheet -- Thursday, March 22," 22 Mar. 2018
That would still pale to Oracle’s three biggest U.S. cloud-infrastructure rivals—Amazon, Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google—which reported $41.6 billion combined in capital expenditures and capital-lease deals in the last calendar year.

— jay greene, WSJ, "Oracle Earnings: What to Watch," 19 Mar. 2018
But all of those calls pale in comparison to this one.

— stephen holder, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: Colts' Chris Ballard faces defining moment in team's coaching search," 3 Jan. 2018
That will actually pale in comparison to what the NBA actually does to Cuban as this process plays out.

— andrew sharp and ben golliver, SI.com, "How Much of the Mavericks' Misbehavior Falls on Mark Cuban?," 23 Feb. 2018
The devastation Hurricane Harvey brought to the Alley Theatre could pale in comparison to the damage inflicted by a tsunami of allegations by more than a dozen current and former employees of Houston's Tony Award-winning resident company.

— molly glentzer, Houston Chronicle, "Alley Theatre leaders remain silent about allegations," 12 Jan. 2018
Although these funds would pale in comparison to SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, the overall trend is up and to the right.

— polina marinova, Fortune, "Term Sheet -- Monday, January 8," 8 Jan. 2018

Origin and Etymology of pale

see ¹pale

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

pale

adjective

Definition of pale

paler; palest

1 : deficient in color or intensity of color : pallid

a pale complexion

2 : not bright or brilliant : dim

a pale sun shining through the fog

3 : feeble, faint

a pale imitation

4 : deficient in chroma

a pale pink

—

palely

play \ˈpāl-lē\ adverb

—

paleness

play \ˈpāl-nəs\ noun

—

palish

play \ˈpā-lish\ adjective

See pale defined for English-language learners

See pale defined for kids

Examples of pale in a Sentence

the pale wood of the table
The walls were painted a pale blue.
She has a pale complexion.
Her illness had left her pale and weak.
She grew pale with fright.
Are you feeling well? You look pale.
the pale light of dawn

Recent Examples of pale from the Web

His skin shows signs of massive infection and is deathly pale.

— kathryn miles, BostonGlobe.com, "Can anyone save the North Atlantic right whale?," 11 Apr. 2018
Also, Maybelline's FIT Me collection really offers a wide range of shades from pale to deep -- in both the matte and poreless and dewy options.

— marissa desantis, Teen Vogue, "The Best Foundation Tips for a Flawless Application," 9 Apr. 2018
Mark was the tall guy from Northampton, Massachusetts, with pale skin and graying spiky hair that stuck up in all directions.

— meredith goldstein, Health.com, "Why I Wish People Would Stop Calling My Best Friend My ‘Work Husband’," 4 Apr. 2018
Just in time for the sun, here are 7 ways to take skin from pale to polished in an instant.

— jenna rennert, Vogue, "7 Better Ways to Self-Tan for Skirt Season," 17 Mar. 2018
Last week, a new project from London’s Natural History Museum and University College London revealed DNA evidence showing that early British inhabitants did not have pale skin as initially believed.

— kristine phillips, Washington Post, "GOP politician mocked Meghan Markle with image of prehistoric black Briton. Twitter banned him.," 12 Feb. 2018
In 2015, for example, a study of ancient DNA found that while individuals in northern Europe had pale skin, hair and eyes around 8,500 years ago, humans in the regions of Spain, Luxembourg and Hungary likely had dark skin.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Early Briton Had Dark Skin and Light Eyes, DNA Analysis Shows," 8 Feb. 2018
What some people might not know is that dyeing her hair the pale shade of blonde was part of what allowed Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, to fully embrace her pop star persona.

— refinery29.com, "Lady Gaga Just Posted An Unrecognizable Throwback Pic For Her Birthday," 29 Mar. 2018
Of course, both pale in comparison to revenue brought in from streaming, which has taken over the music industry in recent years.

— jacob kastrenakes, The Verge, "CDs and vinyl are more popular than digital downloads once again," 22 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of pale

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pallidus, from pallēre to be pale — more at fallow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

pale Synonyms

pale

verb

Definition of pale

paled; paling

intransitive verb

: to become pale

transitive verb

: to make pale

First Known Use of pale

14th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

pale-

combining form

variants: or paleo-

Definition of pale-

1 : involving or dealing with ancient forms or conditions

paleobotany

2 : early : primitive : archaic

Paleolithic

Origin and Etymology of pale-

Greek palai-, palaio- ancient, from palaios, from palai long ago; probably akin to Greek tēle far off, Sanskrit carama last

PALE Defined for English Language Learners

pale

adjective

Definition of pale for English Language Learners

: light in color
: having a skin color that is closer to white than is usual or normal
of light : not bright or intense

PALE Defined for Kids

pale

adjective \ ˈpāl \

Definition of pale for Students

paler; palest

1 : having very light skin

2 : having a lighter skin color than normal because of sickness or fear

3 : not bright or brilliant

a pale star

4 : light in color or shade

pale pink

—

paleness

noun

pale

verb

Definition of pale for Students

paled; paling

1 : to lose color She paled when the wound was described to her.

2 : to make or become less adequate, impressive, or intense

My science project paled in comparison to those of the other students.

Medical Dictionary

pale

adjective \ ˈpā(ə)l \

medical Definition of pale

paler; palest

: deficient in color or intensity of color

a pale face

—

paleness

play \-nəs\ noun

Learn More about pale

See words that rhyme with pale Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pale Spanish Central: Translation of pale Nglish: Translation of pale for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pale for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pale

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pale

Definition of pale

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Origin and Etymology of pale

pale

Definition of pale

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Origin and Etymology of pale

pale

Definition of pale

palely

paleness

palish

Examples of pale in a Sentence

Recent Examples of pale from the Web

Origin and Etymology of pale

pale Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Related Words

pale

Definition of pale

First Known Use of pale

pale-

Definition of pale-

Origin and Etymology of pale-

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PALE Defined for English Language Learners

pale

Definition of pale for English Language Learners

PALE Defined for Kids

pale

Definition of pale for Students

paleness

pale

Definition of pale for Students

Medical Dictionary

pale

medical Definition of pale

paleness

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