as in fades
to make white or whiter by removing color
the sun eventually paled my bright blue shirt
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Recent Examples of pales
Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
And the scale of this pullback still pales next to its 75% collapse during the 2021–2022 bear market.
—Emily Nicolle, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2025
And for those who do manage to build a large emergency fund, the balance often pales in comparison to what a common medical procedure could cost, Volk said.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
Chicago only has 10 cranes in the sky, which pales in comparison to other major cities.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Applebee’s recently managed its first quarter of same-store sales growth after eight consecutive declines, a faint improvement, but one that pales in comparison to the surge at Chili’s or the steady gains at Olive Garden.
—Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
His county’s population has grown by roughly by 32% since 1990, which pales in comparison with statewide growth of 74%.
—Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
And the scale of this pullback still pales next to its 75% collapse during the 2021–2022 bear market.
—Emily Nicolle, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2025
And for those who do manage to build a large emergency fund, the balance often pales in comparison to what a common medical procedure could cost, Volk said.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
Chicago only has 10 cranes in the sky, which pales in comparison to other major cities.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Applebee’s recently managed its first quarter of same-store sales growth after eight consecutive declines, a faint improvement, but one that pales in comparison to the surge at Chili’s or the steady gains at Olive Garden.
—Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pales
Verb
-
Finally, the nebula fades away and only a white dwarf is left behind.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
-
City of London skyline with 20 Fenchurch Street, affectionately nicknamed the Walkie Talkie as light fades at dusk on 27th November 2025 in London, United Kingdom.—
Hugh Leask,Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Heavy sunflowers weeping over fences; iris curling and browning at the edges far away from their purple hearts; ears of corn letting their auburn hair wind down to their stalks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Staff move fences as the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Final is postponed due to heavy snow in Livigno.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
His owner, Hannah Gleason from Oklahoma, told Newsweek that the merle gene isn’t a coloring gene rather than a gene that bleaches the fur and causes lack of pigmentation which can lead to birth defects, blindness, deafness, or sometimes all three.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The two princesses have carved out successful lives beyond palace walls.—
Lauren Said-Moorhouse,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The medical office walls are lined with bright flower-power murals inspired by Marimekko designs, with breeze block in the background for a mid-century Californian look.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
One Dozen Roses No flower brightens up February quite like a beautiful bouquet of roses.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The Olay Super Eye Serum brightens dark circles and firms the under-eye area, and it’s packed with nourishing ingredients like vitamin C, niacinamide, and amino peptide.—
Claire West,
InStyle,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Federal police chased and targeted people randomly in public places like stores, shopping center parking lets, a church lawn and a country club and at times aimed their weapons at people or threatened them.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Dec. 2025
-
The federal government’s permissiveness toward this form of betting lets platforms operate nationwide without following state laws or tax rates—a potentially lucrative proposition that has gained venture capital backing while angering states and tribal groups.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
26 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Reducing meetings to once a month and limiting public comment create barriers.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Last year’s blitz of bills, capping off years of gradual legislative efforts to remove regulatory barriers to building dense housing across California, has, in Wicks’ view, teed up this next big swing.—
Ben Christopher,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
To achieve this look, evergreen hedges are paired with interesting foliage and a unified palette of flowering plants to create a space with structure and softness.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
16 Feb. 2026
-
European buckthorn, or common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), was introduced to North America as an ornamental plant in the 19th century and was once used in hedges, but is now an eyesore and a disruption to the ecosystem.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pales. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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