Pale

UK: /ˈpeɪl/ US: /peɪl/ ,(pāl)

Inflections of 'pale' (adj):

paler

adj comparative

palest

adj superlative

Inflections of 'pale' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

pales

v 3rd person singular

paling

v pres p

paled

v past

paled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pale¹ /peɪl/   adj., pal•er, pal•est, v., paled, pal•ing. 
adj. 

1. lacking strong or natural color;
   colorless or whitish:
   a pale complexion.
2. of a color that is near to white or gray:
   pale yellow.
3. not bright or brilliant;
   dim:
   the pale moon.

v. [no object]

4. to become pale:
   to pale at the sight of blood.
5. to become or seem less important:
   My problems with my children pale in comparison to hers.

pale•ness, n. [uncountable]

pale² /peɪl/   n. 

1. a stake or picket, as of a fence.
2. limits;
   bounds:
   outside the pale of my jurisdiction.

Idioms

3. Idioms beyond the pale, beyond the limits of proper behavior, courtesy, etc.:
   Holding children hostage for political purposes is behavior beyond the pale.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pale¹  (pāl), adj., pal•er, pal•est, v., paled, pal•ing. 
adj. 

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.

v.i., v.t. 

5. to make or become pale:
   to pale at the sight of blood.

• Latin pallidus pallid
• Middle French
• Middle English 1250–1300

pale′ly, adv. 
pale′ness, n. 
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.

pale²  (pāl), n., v., paled, pal•ing. 
n. 

1. Building a stake or picket, as of a fence.
2. an enclosing or confining barrier;
   enclosure.
3. an enclosed area.
4. limits;
   bounds:
   outside the pale of his jurisdiction.
5. a district or region within designated bounds.
6. World History (cap.) Also called English Pale, Irish Pale. a district in eastern Ireland included in the Angevin Empire of King Henry II and his successors.
7. Heraldry an ordinary in the form of a broad vertical stripe at the center of an escutcheon.
8. Nautical, Naval Terms [Shipbuilding.] a shore used inside to support the deck beams of a hull under construction.
9. Idioms beyond the pale, beyond the limits of propriety, courtesy, protection, safety, etc.:
   Their public conduct is certainly beyond the pale.

v.t. 

10. Building to enclose with pales;
    fence.
11. to encircle or encompass.

• Latin pālus stake. See peel³, pole¹
• Middle English (north), Old English pāl 1300–50

pale-, 

1. var. of paleo- before most vowels:
   paleethnology.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] palae-. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

palaeo-, 

1. [Chiefly Brit.] var. of paleo-. 

Also, before some vowels, palae-. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pa•le•a  (pā′lē ə), n., pl. -le•ae 

(-lē ē′). 
1. Botany a chafflike scale or bract.
2. Botany the scalelike, membranous organ in the flowers of grasses that is situated upon a secondary axis in the axil of the flowering glume and envelops the stamens and pistil.

• Neo-Latin, special use of Latin palea chaff 
• 1745–55;

pa′le•a′ceous (-ā′shəs), pa′le•ate  (-it, -āt′), adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pale / peɪl/ adjective

1. lacking brightness of colour; whitish: pale morning light
2. (of a colour) whitish; produced by a relatively small quantity of colouring agent
3. dim or wan: the pale stars
4. feeble: a pale effort
5. 
   a euphemism for White1

verb

1. to make or become pale or paler; blanch
2. (intransitive) often followed by before: to lose superiority or importance (in comparison to): Cameron's achievements paled beside Holly's

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French palle, from Latin pallidus pale, from pallēre to look wan

ˈpalely adverb

ˈpaleness noun

pale / peɪl/ noun

1. a wooden post or strip used as an upright member in a fence
2. an enclosing barrier, esp a fence made of pales
3. an area enclosed by a pale
4. an ordinary consisting of a vertical stripe, usually in the centre of a shield
5. beyond the pale ⇒ outside the limits of social convention

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French pal, from Latin pālus stake; compare pole¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

palaeo-, palae-paleo-, pale- combining_form

1. old, ancient, or prehistoric: palaeography

Etymology: from Greek palaios old

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

palea / ˈpeɪlɪə/, pale / peɪl/ noun (paleae / ˈpeɪlɪˌiː/, pales)

1. the inner of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikelet
   Compare lemma1

Etymology: 18th Century: from Latin: straw, chaff; see pallet¹