pale
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- white, ashen, bleached, colourless, faded, light, pallid, pasty, wan
[verb]
Synonyms:
- become pale, blanch, go white, lose colour, whiten

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Antonyms: brilliant
Contrasted words: flushed, ruddy, bright, colorful, florid, strong, substantial, effective, effectual
Related Words: sallow, sick, sickly, gray, pasty, pasty-faced, waxlike, white, whitened, deathlike, ghastly, inane, insipid, jejune, wishy-washy, insubstantial, unsubstantial, ineffective, ineffectual, faint, feeble, weak

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English Thesaurus: colour, shade, hue, tint, tone, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. pale¹ W3 /peɪl/ adjective
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin pallidus; ⇒ pallid]

1. having a skin colour that is very white, or whiter than it usually is:
He looked very pale and drawn.
turn/go pale
He suddenly went pale.
Sharon went deathly pale and looked as if she might faint.
an elderly pale-faced woman

2. a pale colour has more white in it than usual Antonym : deep Synonym : light:
pale blue curtains

3. pale light is not bright:
the pale gray dawn

4. pale imitation (of something) something that is similar to, but not as good as, something else:
The cheese is a pale imitation of real Parmesan.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. pale² verb [intransitive]

1. literary if your face pales, it becomes whiter than usual because you have had a shock:
Kent’s face paled when he saw that Rob had a knife.

2. pale into insignificance to seem much less important when compared to something bigger, worse, more serious etc:
The amounts of money involved pale into insignificance when compared with the sums spent each year on research.

3. pale in/by comparison to seem small or unimportant compared to something else
pale in/by comparison to/with
Today’s economic problems pale in comparison with those of the 1930s.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. pale³ noun
[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: pale 'limit' (15-18 centuries), from 'fence' (14-19 centuries), from 'pointed piece of wood driven into the ground' (14-20 centuries), from Old French pal, from Latin palus]
beyond the pale offensive or unacceptable:
His opinions are entirely beyond the pale.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

pale
adj.
VERBS appear, be, look, seem | become, go, grow, turn Ruth went pale as the news sank in.
remain
ADV. deathly, extremely, sickly, terribly, very He turned deathly pale.
a bit, a little, quite, rather, slightly | strangely, unnaturally
PHRASES pale and drawn He looked pale and drawn.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

colour red, blue, yellow etc:
Blue is my favourite colour.
Matisse was famous for his use of colour.
shade a particular type of a colour:
The dress is a light shade of pink.
He uses different shades of green.
hue /hjuː/ literary or technical a particular colour or shade of a colour:
Her face had lost its golden hue.
tint a small amount of a colour in something that is mostly another colour:
He wears sunglasses that have a pinky-orange tint.
tone one of the many different shades of a colour, each slightly darker, lighter, brighter etc than the next:
Carpets in neutral tones give a feeling of space.
dark used about a colour that is strong and fairly close to black:
a dark blue suit
His eyes are dark brown.
deep fairly dark – often used when you think this colour looks attractive:
His eyes were a beautiful deep blue.
deep red lips
rich used about a colour that is fairly dark in a way that gives a pleasant feeling of warmth:
The walls were painted a rich red colour.
light used about a colour that is not dark:
a light blue sweater
His T-shirt was light green.
pale used about a colour that is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.
pastel used about a colour that has a lot of white in it:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
bright used about a colour that is strong and easy to see:
The front door was painted bright red.
brilliant/vivid used about a colour that is very bright:
I looked out at the brilliant blue sky.
vivid red flowers
colourful British English, colorful American English used about things that have many different bright colours:
There were window boxes full of colourful flowers.
multicoloured British English, multicolored American English used about things that have a pattern of many different bright colours:
A multicoloured flag waved in the midday sun.
gaudy/garish too brightly coloured, in a way that is unattractive:
The wallpaper was much too gaudy for me.
a garish orange tie

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

light used about a colour that is not dark:
a light blue sweater
His T-shirt was light green.
pale used about a colour that is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.
pastel used about a colour that has a lot of white in it:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sun:
The curtains were old and faded.
a pair of faded jeans

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pale a pale colour is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
a flower with pale green leaves
light a light colour is not dark:
His T-shirt was light green.
a light blue sweater
pastel pastel colours have a lot of white in them:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sun:
The curtains were old and faded.
a pair of faded jeans
soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pale
̈ɪpeɪl
See: beyond the pale

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲