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Definition of palest - 3 dictionary results

pale

1  [peyl] adjective, pal⋅er, pal⋅est, verb, paled, pal⋅ing.
Use palest in a Sentence
–adjective
1. lacking intensity of color; colorless or whitish: a pale complexion.
2. of a low degree of chroma, saturation, or purity; approaching white or gray: pale yellow.
3. not bright or brilliant; dim: the pale moon.
4. faint or feeble; lacking vigor: a pale protest.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
5. to make or become pale: to pale at the sight of blood.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < MF < L pallidus pallid

Related forms:
palely, adverb
paleness, noun

Synonyms:
1. Pale, pallid, wan imply an absence of color, esp. from the human countenance. Pale implies a faintness or absence of color, which may be natural when applied to things, the pale blue of a violet, but when used to refer to the human face usually means an unnatural and often temporary absence of color, as arising from sickness or sudden emotion: pale cheeks. Pallid, limited mainly to the human countenance, implies an excessive paleness induced by intense emotion, disease, or death: the pallid lips of the dying man. Wan implies a sickly paleness, as after a long illness: wan and thin; the suggestion of weakness may be more prominent than that of lack of color: a wan smile. 5. blanch, whiten.

Antonyms:
1. ruddy. 5. darken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To palest
pale 2   (pāl)   
adj.   pal·er, pal·est

  1. Whitish in complexion; pallid.

    1. Of a low intensity of color; light.

    2. Having high lightness and low saturation.

  3. Of a low intensity of light; dim or faint: "a late afternoon sun coming through the el tracks and falling in pale oblongs on the cracked, empty sidewalks" (Jimmy Breslin).

  4. Feeble; weak: a pale rendition of the aria.

v.   paled, pal·ing, pales

v.   tr.
To cause to turn pale.
v.   intr.

  1. To become pale; blanch: paled with fright.

  2. To decrease in relative importance.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pallidus, from pallēre, to be pale; see pel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
pale'ly adv., pale'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pale
Pronunciation: 'pA(&)l
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: pal·er; pal·est
: deficient in color orintensity of color pale face> —pale·ness /-n&s/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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