- (of a person, their face, etc.) having skin that is very light in colour; having skin that has less colour than usual because of illness, a strong emotion, etc.
- a pale complexion
- She was tall with a slender figure and pale skin.
- pale with fear/shock
- to go/turn/grow pale
- You look pale. Are you OK?
- Her face had grown deathly pale.
- The ordeal left her looking pale and drawn.
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearanceb1, Health problemsb1- She was tall, dark and pale, and very beautiful.
- Ruth went pale as the news sank in.
- He turned deathly pale.
- His face went pale with anger.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- appear
- be
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- pale and drawn
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- light in colour; containing a lot of white
- pale blue eyes
- a paler shade of green
- a pale sky
- The flowers were pale and wilted.
- (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.
Check pronunciation:
pale