verb, fad⋅ed, fad⋅ing, noun | 1. | to lose brightness or vividness of color. |
| 2. | to become dim, as light, or lose brightness of illumination. |
| 3. | to lose freshness, vigor, strength, or health: The tulips have faded. |
| 4. | to disappear or die gradually (often fol. by away or out): His anger faded away. |
| 5. | Movies, Television.
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| 6. | Broadcasting, Recording.
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| 7. | Football. (of an offensive back, esp. a quarterback) to move back toward one's own goal line, usually with the intent to pass, after receiving the snapback from center or a hand-off or lateral pass behind the line of scrimmage (usually fol. by back): The quarterback was tackled while fading back for a pass. |
| 8. | (of an automotive brake) to undergo brake fade. |
| 9. | to cause to fade: Sunshine faded the drapes. |
| 10. | (in dice throwing) to make a wager against (the caster). |
| 11. | Movies, Television.
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| 12. | Broadcasting, Recording. to cause (the volume of sound) to increase or decrease gradually (usually fol. by in or out). |
| 13. | an act or instance of fading. |
| 14. | Movies, Television Informal. a fade-out. |
| 15. | Automotive. brake fade. |

| 1. | Movies, Television. a gradual decrease in the visibility of a scene. |
| 2. | Broadcasting, Recording. a gradual decrease in the volume of sound, esp. of recorded or broadcast music, dialogue, or the like, usually ending in complete inaudibility. |
| 3. | a gradual disappearance or reduction: the fade-out of a brilliant career. |

fade (fād) v. fad·ed, fad·ing, fades v. intr.
fade in
[Middle English faden, from Old French fader, from fade, faded, probably from Vulgar Latin *fatidus, alteration of Latin fatuus, insipid.] |
fade
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fade out
Gradually disappear or become inaudible; also, cause to disappear or become inaudible gradually. For example, He let the final chord fade out completely before he played the next movement. The antonym is , "to appear gradually or become audible," as in The images on the screen faded in until they could be seen clearly. These terms originated in the motion-picture and broadcasting industries, where they apply to images and sounds. [c. 1915]
Also, fade away. Quietly depart, as in "Florence Scape, Fanny Scape and their mother faded away to Boulogne" (William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848). [Mid-1800s]