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to pale

to pale

41 3.7
Become very light in color, often from fear or illness
  • verb
  • /peɪl/
translation icon : palidecer
  • His face goes pale and he starts to freak out.

And before the song was ended, the the sky had paled the grayish blue.

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Examples

  • And when I go pale, I go quite sickly, quite sickly looking.

  • As a matter of fact, you're looking rather pale yourself.

  • I was like turning pale and our director thought that I was like, I was like just being a little whiny landing person.

  • The reaction is just as he feared: his face pales as the food passes down his esophagus.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Bryce could have sworn Rysan's golden face paled slightly.

  • She started to pale when she heard the news of the accident.

  • After seeing the spider, he paled and took a step back.

  • The nurse noticed that the patient began to pale during the procedure.

Synonyms

to blanch
vsto pale
5 7.4

To become pale from sudden fear or shock

is the neutral standard verb for that emotional color change
to turn pale
vsto pale
3 3.2

Become very white in the face when you feel shocked, afraid, or sick

is the single-word verb form rather than a phrase
to blench
vsto pale
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To turn pale and flinch from sudden fear or shock

marks the color change without the added flinch or startle
to etiolate
vsto pale
9.9

To make people or things pale and weak by keeping them from light and everyday life

refers to sudden lightening from fear illness rather than slow weakening

Antonyms

228 1.0

To make something a different shade by painting or dyeing

80 3.4

To become red because of heat or strong feeling

Idioms

beyond the pale
  • Informal
12 9.1

Morally and socially wrong to most people

A group that mostly has older white men and lacks diversity and new ideas

Phrasal Verbs

Look less impressive than something else

3 3.2

Become very white in the face when you feel shocked, afraid, or sick

Compounds

14 1.0

A light, soft shade of blue like the sky

4 1.0

A light yellow colour that looks soft and not bright

2 2.8

A light amber beer made from pale grains with a hoppy, dry taste

1 4.9

A person with a very pale face because of illness or fear

cadmium yellow pale
  • Specialized
9.7

A pale yellow paint color used by artists

Having a light color that is not bright

9.9

A small insect that sucks sap from chrysanthemum plants and harms leaves and flowers

pale coral root
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with almost no leaves and pale yellow-green stems and flowers

pale rider
  • Literature
9.9

A ghostly horse rider people say brings death

pale violet
  • Specialized
8.1

A small leafy plant with cream or white flowers faintly marked with purple

5.1

A light color that is not strong

How Pale

to white
8 5.9
to turn pale
3 3.2
to pale
41 3.7
to blanch
5 7.4

Surface Forms

pale infinitive
paled past
paled past participle
paling present participle
pales third person singular

Etymology

The verb pale comes from the Latin verb pallēre meaning 'to be pale'. So to pale is to lose color, often from fear, shock, or sickness.