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
-
The notion of grief gradually fades into the backdrop, finally re-emerging in a manner that is, thanks to the film’s lumpy tonal mixture, more confusing than emotionally cleansing.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
-
While being stuck at home for several days might feel fun and cozy at first, that novelty fades fast.—
Avery Newmark,
AJC.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Dozens of immigrant families protested Saturday behind the fences of a Texas detention facility where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent this week after being detained in Minnesota.—
Valerie Gonzalez,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Syrian government forces moved in to secure the camp a day later but, in the meantime, fences had been pulled down and dozens of prisoners had escaped.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
23 Jan. 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
-
Damaged walls may not be able to support the building's weight.—
Pat Harvey,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Using a speaker outside the stall results in reverb and echoing as the music bounces around the bathroom walls, making the sound muddy and unpleasant.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Creative play brightens, and feelings gently soften as the Moon leaps into your 5th House of Affection.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Seeking a vitamin C that brightens without irritation?—
Jackie Fields,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 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
-
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada and China reached a preliminary deal to remove trade barriers and lower tariffs.—
Terri Cullen,
CNBC,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Geographic barriers and limited profit potential have long discouraged private internet service providers from these areas, thus necessitating public investment.—
Letters to the Editor,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Capital is increasingly deployed defensively — locked into duplicative supply chains, regulatory hedges, and parallel infrastructures — rather than to create optionality.—
Louisa Loran,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
-
On Wednesday, Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at UBS Financial Services, said gold will reach $5,000 in the coming months — $5,400 in her bull case — amid demand for hedges from macroeconomic and geopolitical worries.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pales. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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