I. pas ‧ tel 1 /ˈpæstl $ pæˈstel/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: Italian pastello , from Late Latin pasta ; ⇨ ↑ paste 1 ]
1 .
a) [uncountable and countable] a small coloured stick for drawing pictures with, made of a substance like ↑ chalk
b) [countable] a picture drawn with pastels
2 . [countable usually plural] a light colour such as pale blue or pink:
a room beautifully furnished in soft pastels
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THESAURUS
■ light colours
▪ light used about a colour that is not dark:
a light blue sweater
|
His T-shirt was light green.
▪ pale used about a colour that is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
▪ soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.
▪ pastel used about a colour that has a lot of white in it:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
II. pastel 2 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
1 . pastel colours are light and pale:
pastel blue
The walls were painted in pastel shades.
2 . drawn using pastels:
a set of four small pastel drawings
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THESAURUS
▪ pale a pale colour is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
|
a flower with pale green leaves
▪ light a light colour is not dark:
His T-shirt was light green.
|
a light blue sweater
▪ pastel pastel colours have a lot of white in them:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
▪ faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sun:
The curtains were old and faded.
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a pair of faded jeans