pale 1 of 3

adjective

ˈpāl How to pronounce pale (audio)
Definition of palenext
1
as in faded
lacking intensity of color we chose a very pale pink for the walls of the room

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pallid
lacking a healthy skin color after a week with the flu, she was deathly pale and noticeably thinner

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly a pale outline off in the distance proved to be someone out for a walk

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pale

2 of 3

verb

as in to bleach
to make white or whiter by removing color the sun eventually paled my bright blue shirt

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pale

3 of 3

noun

as in paling

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pale
Adjective
Egg whites turn pale golden and the yolks take on a green color because of the unique cooking process. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2026 Add the sugar and date molasses to the brown butter and use a hand mixer (or whisk by hand) until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns pale. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Verb
Obviously, paled in comparison to some of the other people singing that night. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026 And while Shakira drew big cheers, as did the appearance of Bieber, these paled in comparison to the cheers and oh’s and ah’s in the crowd throughout the gripping final. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 19 July 2026
Noun
Some things do seem beyond the pale to this group. — Justin Worland, Time, 28 May 2026 Thus, anger management classes and guidebooks have risen to this challenge and seek to aid people in managing anger that is beyond the pale. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for pale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pale
  1. faded
  2. pallid
  3. vague
  4. bleach
  5. wall
  6. light
  7. faint
  8. fade
Adjective
  • The team behind this research studied 14 candidates for faded or remnant radio galaxies found in a region of the sky over Earth, studied intensely by the XMM-Newton X-ray spacecraft, called the XMM–Newton Large-Scale Structure (XMM–LSS) field.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • How to Deadhead Coneflowers Deadheading coneflowers is as simple as removing the faded flower heads.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of faded
Adjective
  • Young people in particular have soured on the technology over the last year, a development that may at least partially be explained by a pallid entry-level job market.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
  • This mordant melange takes off from the opening sequence, when Niaz finds himself at a casting call for an indie directed by Aza (Elene Mausuradze), an androgynous female director with the pallid look of a Tim Burton extra.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of pallid
Adjective
  • Schedule the appointment, set the reminder, protect the rest window, and let one steady step make the pressure feel less vague.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • However, the piece maintains that vague assurances are not enough and that Becerra should commit to a specific time and place, framing a face-to-face debate as an obligation rather than a tactical option.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of vague
Verb
  • Once they are recovered, the remains are often sun-bleached, scavenged and without any recognizable features, Kaplan said.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • If a garment or surface isn’t clearly bleach safe, test the product on an inconspicuous area first.
    — Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of bleach
Noun
  • The Cohen Building originally housed the Social Security Administration, an important piece of the New Deal legacy, and contains frescoes painted in the 1940s by famed artist Seymour Fogel on the entrance lobby walls, Okin said.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Polished stone-tile floors, whitewashed walls, and spacious bathrooms are common elements of all the rooms.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of wall
Adjective
  • Thomas Babor, a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine who studies alcohol addiction, told Time that lighter, more health-conscious drinkers appear to be the ones scaling back.
    — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Thomas Babor, a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine who studies alcohol and alcohol addiction, told Time Magazine that lighter drinkers appear to be leading the pullback.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of light
Adjective
  • With all those stars clumped together, even fainter globular clusters will typically be easier to spot than the smaller variety.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • For astronomers, these satellites would become a nightmare for observations, crowding out and obscuring fainter objects or even challenging the Milky Way’s prominence with their glare.
    — Arielle Frommer, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of faint
Verb
  • Similar bouts of traders closing short positions in early June and early July initially pushed prices higher before the gains eventually faded.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Isabelle Huppert and Virginie Efira led Farhadi’s French-language Parallel Tales, a film about Sylvie (Huppert), a fading novelist in search of inspiration for her next book, who starts spying on her neighbors across the street.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of fade

Browse Nearby Words

palavers
pale
paled
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Cite this Entry

“Pale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pale. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pale

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pale

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