FADE

[verb] - to (cause to) lose colour, brightness or strength graduallyYou'll fade that tablecloth if you wash it in hot water. [T]If you hang your clothes out in the bright sun, they will fade. [I]He had a lovely suntan when he got back from his holiday, but it soon faded. [I]They arrived home just as the light was fading (= as it was going dark). [I]After his girlfriend left him, Bill faded from the picture/scene (= stopped being part of the group of friends). [I]The horse riders gradually faded from view/sight (= disappeared in the distance). [I]If something fades into something else, you cannot see the border between them.Day slowly faded into night.If something fades away/out, it becomes less clear and then disappears.The voice on the radio faded out.The children's memories of their father slowly faded away.Hopes of saving the trapped miners are fading away fast.(literary) If a person is fading (away)/fading fast, they are growing weaker and will probably die soon.(specialized) If the picture or sound of a film or recording fades in, or someone fades it in, it becomes gradually stronger.(specialized) If the picture or sound of a film or recording fades out or someone fades it out, it becomes gradually weaker.(saying) 'Old soldiers never die, they only fade away' means that the qualities soldiers have stay with them forever.