fade away meaning: definition, quotations

fade away

verb

To lose strength, become weaker; to wane; to disappear or reduce slowly.

I was angry at first, but my rage faded away over time.
The stars shall fade away.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 57:

2 more examples

"I felt my strength fading away, and I was in a half swoon. How long this horrible thing lasted I know not, but it seemed that a long time must have passed before he took his foul, awful, sneering mouth away. I saw it drip with the fresh blood!"1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
The sun is fading away That's the end of the day1963, The Beatles, “I'll Be on My Way”:

noun

Art, Arts A painting technique in which young women's clothes fade into the background.

Phillips became known for the "fade away, in which the main figures' clothing is the same color as the background, allowing the elements to partially blend.2009, Alison A. Nieder, Jim Heimann, 100 Ans de Pubs de Mode, page 1879:
Hirschfeld captured many scenes in line and employed Coles Phillips's "fade away" technique in his painting on the left.2015, David Leopold, The Hirschfeld Century:

1 more example

In Phillip's "Fade Away" style, he is literally editing out elements (by making them the same flat color as the background), but those elements are still there.2019, Coles Phillips, Fadeaway: The Remarkable Imagery of Coles Phillips:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.