fades away

Meanings

1. 1phrasephrasal verb

   gradually becomes weaker, fainter or less noticeable until it is gone.

   Grammar: No object: the sound fades away.

   Patterns

   • something fades away
   • fade away into something

   The music fades away as the train leaves the station.

   The color of the old photograph fades away a little each year.

   Her fear fades away once she starts talking.

2. 2phrasephrasal verb

   slowly loses strength or health, especially because of illness or age; or disappears from public attention.

   Grammar: No object; the subject is a person or a fame, hope or memory.

   Patterns

   • someone fades away
   • hope fades away

   Their hope fades away with every passing week.

   The old singer simply fades away from public life.

   He fades away in his chair when the meeting drags on.

Word forms

Common combinations

slowly fades away

The pain slowly fades away after a few days.

memory fades away

A memory fades away if you never revisit it.

hope fades away

Hope fades away when the news stays bad.

sound fades away

The sound fades away behind the hills.

fades away completely

The mist fades away completely by noon.

Synonyms and how they differ

disappear

Disappear can be sudden, whereas fades away always implies a gradual change.

dwindle

Dwindle focuses on getting smaller in number or amount, not fainter.

vanish

Vanish suggests quick, complete loss, so it is stronger than fade away.

wane

Wane is more formal and used for things like the moon, interest or power.

Opposites

Word family

fade verb

to lose color, light or strength

faded adjective

having lost color or strength

fading adjective

becoming weaker

fadeless adjective

not fading, rare

Commonly confused: fades away or fade out?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fades away”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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