- 1 (of a person, their face, etc.) having skin that is almost white; having skin that is whiter than usual because of illness, a strong emotion, etc. a pale complexion pale with fear to go/turn pale You look pale. Are you OK? The ordeal left her looking pale and drawn. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsappear, be, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasespale and drawn See full entry See related entries: Being ill, Skin
- 2 light in colour; containing a lot of white pale blue eyes a paler shade of green a pale sky opposite dark, deep
- 3 (of light) not strong or bright the cold pale light of dawn see also pallid, pallor Word Originadjective Middle English: from Old French pale, from Latin pallidus; the verb is from Old French palir.Extra examples He turned deathly pale. Ruth went pale as the news sank in. His face went pale with anger. She has her father’s pale blue eyes. She was deathly pale and very thin. She was tall, dark and pale, and very beautiful. The bedroom walls are pale green. The flowers were pale and wilted. The ordeal left her looking pale and drawn. The rooftops and chimneys stood out against the pale sky. You look pale—are you feeling OK?
Check pronunciation: pale
