pale

[ peyl ]

/ peɪl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pale ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, pal·er, pal·est.

(of a person or a person's skin)

light-colored or lacking in color: a pale complexion; his pale face; a pale child.
lacking the usual intensity of color due to fear, illness, stress, etc.:She looked pale and unwell when we visited her in the nursing home.

of a low degree of chroma, saturation, or purity; approaching white or gray: pale yellow.

not bright or brilliant; dim: the pale moon.

faint or feeble; lacking vigor: a pale protest.

verb (used without object), paled, pal·ing.

to become pale: to pale at the sight of blood.

to seem less important, remarkable, etc., especially when compared with something else: Platinum is so rare that even gold pales in comparison.

verb (used with object)

to make pale.

Origin of pale

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Latin pallidus pallid

SYNONYMS FOR pale

1 Pale, pallid, wan imply an absence of color, especially from the human countenance. Pale implies a faintness or absence of color, which may be natural when applied to things, the pale blue of a violet, but when used to refer to the human face usually means an unnatural and often temporary absence of color, as arising from sickness or sudden emotion: pale cheeks. Pallid , limited mainly to the human countenance, implies an excessive paleness induced by intense emotion, disease, or death: the pallid lips of the dying man. Wan implies a sickly paleness, as after a long illness: wan and thin; the suggestion of weakness may be more prominent than that of lack of color: a wan smile.

5 blanch, lose color.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pale ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR pale

1 ruddy.

5 darken.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR pale ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM pale

pale·ly, adverb pale·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pale

pale pail pale pall pallor

Words nearby pale

palau islands, palaver, palawan, palazzo, palazzo pants, pale, pale horse, pale horse, pale rider, pale western cutworm, pale-, pale-dry

Definition for pale (2 of 3)

pale ²

[ peyl ]

/ peɪl /

noun

a stake or picket, as of a fence.

an enclosing or confining barrier; enclosure.

an enclosed area.

limits; bounds: outside the pale of his jurisdiction.

a district or region within designated bounds.

(initial capital letter) Also called English Pale, Irish Pale. a district in eastern Ireland included in the Angevin Empire of King Henry II and his successors.

an ordinary in the form of a broad vertical stripe at the center of an escutcheon.

Shipbuilding. a shore used inside to support the deck beams of a hull under construction.

verb (used with object), paled, pal·ing.

to enclose with pales; fence.

to encircle or encompass.

Origin of pale

1300–50; Middle English (north), Old English pāl < Latin pālus stake. See peel³, pole¹

Definition for pale (3 of 3)

pale-

variant of paleo- before most vowels: paleethnology.

Also especially British, palae-.

Example sentences from the Web for pale

The pale, baby-faced, red-cheeked rapper is furiously puffing away at a hastily-made blunt crammed with low-grade weed.

The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’ |Marlow Stern |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
But the flaws and peccadilloes of Renaissance artists like Michelangelo pale beside the misdeeds of patrons and pontiffs.

Great Renaissance Art Thrived Amid Filth |Nick Romeo |December 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Still, at each stage of jazz history certain kinds of sounds were beyond the pale.

The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest |Nat Hentoff |October 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
She led a reliably epic and wild life, powered by a brand of comedy that regarded nothing as beyond the pale.

What Joan Rivers Said She Would Do If She Were Dictator of America |Asawin Suebsaeng |September 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

With her cascade of red, twirling hair and pale, fine-boned face.

Murdoch on the Rocks: How a Lone Reporter Revealed the Mogul's Tabloid Terror Machine |Clive Irving |August 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
"I thank you," said Johanna, and for an instant her pale face glowed with the same fire which had distinguished her father.

A Noble Name |Claire Von Glmer
She made desperate efforts to control her grief, and conceal the tears that rolled in quick succession down her pale cheeks.

Flora Lyndsay |Susanna Moodie
The grey light of dawn faintly illumined this scene of carnage, and its pale, cold gleams mingled with the ruddy glow of the fire.

Annals of a Fortress |E. Viollet-le-Duc
His face was drawn and pale, and it was obvious that his coordination wasn't very good.

The Electronic Mind Reader |John Blaine
Its petals are loose and thin, and of a pale primrose colour, and before it is fully out it is at its best.

A Year in a Lancashire Garden |Henry Arthur Bright

British Dictionary definitions for pale (1 of 2)

pale ¹

/ (peɪl) /

adjective

lacking brightness of colour; whitish pale morning light

(of a colour) whitish; produced by a relatively small quantity of colouring agent

dim or wan the pale stars

feeble a pale effort

Southern African a euphemism for White

verb

to make or become pale or paler; blanch

(intr often foll by before) to lose superiority or importance (in comparison to) her beauty paled before that of her hostess

Derived forms of pale

palely, adverb paleness, noun

Word Origin for pale

C13: from Old French palle, from Latin pallidus pale, from pallēre to look wan

British Dictionary definitions for pale (2 of 2)

pale ²

/ (peɪl) /

noun

a wooden post or strip used as an upright member in a fence

an enclosing barrier, esp a fence made of pales

an area enclosed by a pale

a sphere of activity within which certain restrictions are applied

heraldry an ordinary consisting of a vertical stripe, usually in the centre of a shield

beyond the pale outside the limits of social convention

verb

(tr) to enclose with pales

Word Origin for pale

C14: from Old French pal, from Latin pālus stake; compare pole 1

Idioms and Phrases with pale

pale

see beyond the pale.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pale

adjective, pal·er, pal·est.

verb (used without object), paled, pal·ing.

verb (used with object)

Origin of pale

SYNONYMS FOR pale

ANTONYMS FOR pale

OTHER WORDS FROM pale

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pale

Words nearby pale

Definition for pale (2 of 3)

noun

verb (used with object), paled, pal·ing.

Origin of pale

Definition for pale (3 of 3)

Example sentences from the Web for pale

British Dictionary definitions for pale (1 of 2)

adjective

verb

Derived forms of pale

Word Origin for pale

British Dictionary definitions for pale (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pale

Idioms and Phrases with pale

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pale

adjective, pal·er, pal·est.

verb (used without object), paled, pal·ing.

verb (used with object)

Origin of pale

SYNONYMS FOR pale

ANTONYMS FOR pale

OTHER WORDS FROM pale

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pale

Words nearby pale

Definition for pale (2 of 3)

noun

verb (used with object), paled, pal·ing.

Origin of pale

Definition for pale (3 of 3)

Words related to pale

Example sentences from the Web for pale

British Dictionary definitions for pale (1 of 2)

adjective

verb

Derived forms of pale

Word Origin for pale

British Dictionary definitions for pale (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pale

Idioms and Phrases with pale