pale
pale — adjective
1. having a face or skin that looks whiter than is normal for the person — perhaps
having a face or skin that looks whiter than is normal for the person — perhaps from sickness, sudden fear or shock, or because their natural skin tone is light.
Maya looked pale and tired after her long flight from Tokyo.
look + pale (predicative, after linking verb)
The little boy turned pale when the doctor brought out a needle.
turn pale (with cause)
Mr. Chen has a pale, freckled face that burns easily in the sun.
Lina went pale with fear when she heard footsteps behind her.
Carlos was so pale that his mother thought he had a fever.
文法句型
pale with [emotion]
go/turn pale
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a person, a face, or skin. Common patterns are 'go/turn pale' for a sudden change, and 'pale with [fear/shock/anger]' to name the cause. Distinguish from sense 2, which describes the lightness of any colour or light, not skin tone.
常見錯誤
2. of a colour: soft and close to white rather than rich or vivid; of a light: weak
of a colour: soft and close to white rather than rich or vivid; of a light: weak or dim instead of strong.
Sarah painted her bedroom walls a pale blue with white trim.
pale + colour name
The morning sky was a pale pink above the mountains.
describing soft colour in nature
Hugo wore a pale yellow shirt to the summer wedding.
A pale moon rose slowly over the quiet harbour.
The lamp gave off a pale light that barely reached the corners of the room.
文法句型
pale + colour
a pale [colour]
用法筆記
Use before colour words ('a pale blue', 'pale green') or before words for sources of light ('a pale moon', 'pale sunlight'). With light, 'pale' means weak or dim. Distinguish from sense 1, which only applies to skin or faces.
常見錯誤
pale — verb
1. of a person or face: to suddenly become whiter than usual, often because of fear
of a person or face: to suddenly become whiter than usual, often because of fear, shock, or bad news.
Marcus paled at the sight of the broken window in his car.
pale at the sight of [something]
Aunt Rosa paled when the nurse said the name of the hospital.
subject + pale + when-clause (cause)
His mother's face paled as she read the letter from the school.
Lina paled at the thought of speaking in front of the whole school.
文法句型
[person/face] pales
pale at the sight/thought/mention of
用法筆記
Intransitive only — you cannot 'pale someone' in modern English. Subject is a person, a face, or skin. Often used in writing to suggest a strong emotional reaction; in everyday speech, 'go pale' or 'turn pale' is more common.
常見錯誤
pale — noun
1. a fence built from a row of strong wooden posts that have a sharp point at the t
a fence built from a row of strong wooden posts that have a sharp point at the top.
The old farmhouse was protected by a tall pale around the garden.
noun: a pale (= the whole fence)
Workers replaced the rotten pale at the back of the church grounds.
subject of action: replacing a pale
A wooden pale once surrounded the small village to keep wolves out.
Inside the castle yard, a sturdy pale kept the sheep safe at night.
用法筆記
Rare in modern English; you are more likely to see 'paling' or 'palisade' for the fence. Often appears in historical or literary writing about old farms, villages, or castles. Distinguish from sense 2, which is one single stake, not the whole fence.
2. one of the strong wooden sticks with a sharp point at the top, used to build a f
one of the strong wooden sticks with a sharp point at the top, used to build a fence of this kind.
Each pale was driven deep into the soil with a heavy wooden mallet.
passive: a pale is driven into the ground
The carpenter sharpened the top of every pale before nailing them together.
every pale (countable, plural use)
Two pales had snapped in the storm, leaving a gap in the fence.
Marcus tied a rope between three tall pales to mark the edge of his field.
用法筆記
Countable; the plural 'pales' is common in this sense. Distinguish from sense 1: a pale (this sense) is one stake, but the whole fence made of many such stakes is also called 'a pale' in older usage.
3. the region close to Dublin in Ireland that the English ruled during the medieval
the region close to Dublin in Ireland that the English ruled during the medieval period.
In the fifteenth century, English law was followed mainly inside the Pale.
the Pale (capitalised, with 'the')
Many Irish lords lived just beyond the Pale and resisted English rule.
beyond the Pale (geographical, literal sense)
Professor O'Brien showed how by 1488 the Pale had shrunk to four small coastal counties.
Merchants travelled to towns within the Pale to sell wool and salted fish.
文法句型
the Pale
用法筆記
Always written with a capital P and with 'the'. Found in books and articles about Irish history. The phrase 'beyond the pale' meaning 'unacceptable' comes from this geographical sense, but is now used figuratively.
4. the area or limits inside which a person is safe, accepted, or under someone's r
the area or limits inside which a person is safe, accepted, or under someone's rule — for example, the boundary of polite behaviour or of a country's authority.
Shouting at the waiter in front of the children was beyond the pale.
beyond the pale (= outside acceptable behaviour)
Within the pale of the new treaty, both armies agreed to stop fighting.
within the pale of [authority]
The judge said cheating on this scale was clearly beyond the pale of the law.
Mocking a grieving family is beyond the pale, no matter who you are.
- boundary
everyday word for a line marking the limits of something
- limits
common; what is allowed or acceptable
- jurisdiction
formal; the area where a court or authority has power
文法句型
beyond the pale
within the pale of
用法筆記
Almost always appears in fixed phrases: 'beyond the pale' (most common; meaning 'unacceptable') or 'within the pale of [something]'. Formal and somewhat literary. Don't use this sense alone without one of these phrases.