From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpalepale1 /peɪl/ ●●○ W3 adjective 1 MICOLOUR/COLORhaving a skin colour that is very white, or whiter than it usually is He looked very pale and drawn.turn/go pale He suddenly went pale. Sharon went deathly pale and looked as if she might faint. an elderly pale-faced woman2 CCCOLOUR/COLORa pale colour has more white in it than usual OPP deep SYN light pale blue curtains► see thesaurus at colour3 BRIGHTpale light is not bright the pale gray dawn4 → pale imitation (of something)THESAURUSpale a pale colour is very lightHe has very pale blue eyes.a flower with pale green leaveslight a light colour is not darkHis T-shirt was light green.a light blue sweaterpastel pastel colours have a lot of white in themThe girls wore pastel pink sundresses.faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sunThe curtains were old and faded.a pair of faded jeans
Examples from the Corpus
pale• The sunlight through the thick clouds was pale and cool that morning.• He was pale and natty as ever.• You look kind of pale. Are you feeling okay?• The old man's pale blue eyes moved from the dartboard to the bar and then back again.• His pale blue eyes were fixed on Sendei's own.• pale blue eyes• Because of its name and that pale blue the school enjoyed a peculiar indefinable distinction.• The room, painted a white so fresh that it seemed pale blue, was cool and soothing.• a pale complexion• He knelt inside a globe of pale fire, his face lifted to the chains, his eyes closed.• I couldn't get to sleep until I saw the first pale light of dawn.• the pale light of early morning• The banks of the river are bathed in pale moonlight.• And her skin pale pale pale, like that one.• Her dress is pale pink, with a small flowery pattern.• Great pale splotches appeared on the once-shining parquet floor where water had leaked in and stood in puddles.• There were dark rings under her eyes and her skin was paler than usual.deathly pale• He stared back at the ancient church, his eyes wide and face deathly pale.• He was deathly pale and obviously still in the first shock of grief but it had taken him differently.• She was lying not far from her fiancé, eyes closed, deathly pale but apparently hardly injured.• She was deathly pale, her face almost swollen as if she had spent her life in tears.• May become deathly pale if the room is overheated; kick off the bed covers if they are able to.• Her daughter-in-law was deathly pale, looking as if she would faint.• He went as thin as a rake, and deathly pale then for a couple of weeks.palepale2 verb [intransitive] 1 COLOUR/COLOR literary if your face pales, it becomes whiter than usual because you have had a shock Kent’s face paled when he saw that Rob had a knife.2 → pale into insignificance3 → pale in/by comparison→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
pale• The luminous star streaks were paling against a milky sky, whose brilliance in-creased moment by moment.• It was without end or beginning, paling all emotional experiences into insignificance.• The Mallaig train pulled away from the Clyde valley, leaving the haze-softened lights of Dumbarton paling in a cold February dawn.• But that pales in comparison to what he brings to this city.• Love seemed to pale in the whirlwind of conflicts I felt.• It was still flowering in November, but the colour had paled to a soft lavender.• Clarence paled visibly. He hated the thought of pain.• I found a plumber, but when he saw the solid fuel monster in the kitchen, he paled visibly.palepale3 noun → beyond the paleOrigin pale1 (1300-1400) Old French Latin pallidus; → PALLID pale3 (1400-1500) pale “limit” ((15-18 centuries)), from “fence” ((14-19 centuries)), from “pointed piece of wood driven into the ground” ((14-20 centuries)), from Old French pal, from Latin palus 