pale
Drained of hue
Pale is most often an adjective characterizing things that are faintly or deficiently colored.
Pale red, pale yellow, and pale green are all versions of those colors that lack brightness or saturation.
If someone turns pale, their skin loses some color, often as a result of shock.
The verb pale means to turn pale, but is often used figuratively: if one thing pales in relation to another, the second thing is much worse.
An infrequent noun pale denotes a pole or stake, perhaps marking a boundary.
Beyond the pale conveys the notion of beyond acceptable limits: His drunken behavior at the party was beyond the pale.
Absence of pigment
- ivoryTusk-derived material
- creamRich milk fat
- alabasterTranslucent carving stone
- ashenPale, grayish-white
wan · pallid · blanched · bloodless · colorless · milky · chalky · waxen
In poor health
- unwellExperiencing poor health
- wanPale and unwell-looking
- gauntLean from deprivation
- sallowUnhealthily yellowish complexion
anemic · peaked · peaky · drawn · haggard · ashen · greenish · queasy
Ghostlike or wavelength-related
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- eerieDisturbingly strange
- wraithlikeResembling a ghost
- phantomlikeResembling a specter
ghastly · haunting · otherworldly · deathly · corpselike · cadaverous · unearthly · wan
Sensation of spinning
- lightheadedFaint and unsteady feeling
- woozyDizzy and confused
- faintWeak and indistinct
- swoonLose consciousness briefly
unsteady · weak · giddy · nauseous · turn · blanch · whiten · collapse
white
Absence of pigment
ashen · wan · pallid · blanched · bloodless · colorless · milky · chalky · waxen · whitish
ill
In poor health
sallow · anemic · peaked · peaky · drawn · haggard · ashen · greenish · queasy · feeble
spectral
Ghostlike or wavelength-related
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- eerieDisturbingly strange
- wraithlikeResembling a ghost
phantomlike · ghastly · haunting · otherworldly · deathly · corpselike · cadaverous · unearthly · wan · bloodless
soft
Yielding to touch
subtle · subdued · washed-out · delicate · diffuse · hazy · gentle · weak · pastel · whitened
dizzy
Sensation of spinning
- lightheadedFaint and unsteady feeling
- woozyDizzy and confused
- faintWeak and indistinct
swoon · unsteady · weak · giddy · nauseous · turn · blanch · whiten · collapse · overcome
stake
Sharpened post or share
fencing · post · railing · barrier · wooden · pointed · upright · perimeter
fade
Lose intensity gradually
lessen · shrink · dwindle · wane · recede · paltry · trifling · poor · weak · inferior
- pale skinLight-colored human exterior
- pale blueLight, desaturated azure
- beyond the paleExceeding acceptable standards
- pale as a ghostExtremely pallid from shock
- pale shadeFaint, light color
- pale in comparisonSeem inferior when contrasted
paled, Pale of Settlement, paleness, paling, pales, palisade, impale, paler, palely