pale
51
6.9
- adjective
- /peɪl/
- Years passed and Sparta was but a pale shadow of its former self, yet still the old lion held great respect.
- a pale imitation
- a pale reflection
- a pale shadow
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Watch on YouTubeBut you also know that language is a pale shadow.
- But you also know that language is a pale shadow.
Examples
-
American scholars, Walker notes, see foreign contributions to U.S. history as a "pale reflection of the genuine article."
Academic text (1993) -
Under the previous regime, such institutions were a pale shadow of their prewar selves.
Academic text (1991) -
But you also know that language is a pale shadow.
-
Abstract ideas are pale things compared to those first bees and blossoms.
-
The modern Shepheard's is a pale imitation by comparison, though it still attracts the tourists.
Fiction book (2000) -
Affective collegiality, in Kasper's view, is a pale reflection of real collegiality.
Academic text (2002) -
Harmon was trying to grin, but his pale skin was suffused with a succession of easy blushes.
Fiction book (1990) -
Vernon is standing in the doorway, pale with shock, automatic clutched in his trembling hands.
Fiction book (1990) -
The film's plot was a pale version of the exciting book.
-
His presentation was a pale attempt to captivate the audience.
Synonyms
1
7.4
Not interesting or lively and often boring
Antonyms
634
3.4
Causing people to admire it, like a building or performance, because it is very good
Idioms
- Slur
A group that mostly has older white men and lacks diversity and new ideas
Compounds
- Specialized
1
8.1
A small leafy plant with cream or white flowers faintly marked with purple
- Specialized
A small insect that sucks sap from chrysanthemum plants and harms leaves and flowers
- Specialized
A plant with almost no leaves and pale yellow-green stems and flowers
How Lively
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word pale is also used for things that seem weak or not full of life, and a helpful way to remember this is to think of something 'losing color' and energy. So a pale performance or copy is one that feels weak or unimpressive.