Dark vs. Pale — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Dark and Pale
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Compare with Definitions
Dark
Lacking or having very little light
A dark corner.
Pale
Light in colour or shade; containing little colour or pigment
Choose pale floral patterns for walls
Dark
Lacking brightness
A dark day.
Pale
Inferior or unimpressive
The new cheese is a pale imitation of continental cheeses
Dark
Reflecting only a small fraction of incident light; tending toward black
Dark clothing.
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Pale
Become pale in one's face from shock or fear
I paled at the thought of what she might say
Dark
Served without milk or cream
Dark coffee.
Pale
Seem or become less important
All else pales by comparison
Dark
Being or having a complexion that is not light in color.
Pale
A wooden stake or post used with others to form a fence.
Dark
Sullen or threatening
A dark scowl.
Pale
An area within determined bounds, or subject to a particular jurisdiction.
Dark
Characterized by gloom or pessimism; dismal or bleak
A dark day for the economy.
Dark predictions of what lies in store.
Pale
A broad vertical stripe down the middle of a shield.
Dark
Being or characterized by morbid or grimly satiric humor.
Pale
A stake or pointed stick; a picket.
Dark
Unknown or concealed; mysterious
A dark secret.
The dark workings of the unconscious.
Pale
A fence enclosing an area.
Dark
Lacking enlightenment, knowledge, or culture
A dark age in the history of education.
Pale
The area enclosed by a fence or boundary.
Dark
Evil in nature or effect; sinister
"churned up dark undercurrents of ethnic and religious hostility" (Peter Maas).
Pale
A region or district lying within an imposed boundary or constituting a separate jurisdiction.
Dark
Morally corrupt; vicious
Dark deeds.
A dark past.
Pale
Pale The medieval dominions of the English in Ireland. Used with the.
Dark
Having richness or depth
A dark, melancholy vocal tone.
Pale
(Heraldry) A wide vertical band in the center of an escutcheon.
Dark
Not giving performances; closed
The movie theater is dark on Mondays.
Pale
To enclose with pales; fence in.
Dark
(Linguistics) Pronounced with the back of the tongue raised toward the velum. Used of the sound (l) in words like full.
Pale
To cause to turn pale.
Dark
Absence of light.
Pale
To become pale; blanch
Paled with fright.
Dark
A place having little or no light.
Pale
To decrease in relative importance.
Dark
Night; nightfall
Home before dark.
Pale
Whitish in complexion; pallid.
Dark
A deep hue or color.
Pale
Of a low intensity of color; light.
Dark
Darks Pieces of laundry having a dark color.
Pale
Having high lightness and low saturation.
Dark
Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
The room was too dark for reading.
Pale
Of a low intensity of light; dim or faint
"a late afternoon sun coming through the el tracks and falling in pale oblongs on the cracked, empty sidewalks" (Jimmy Breslin).
Dark
(of a source of light) Extinguished.
Dark signals should be treated as all-way stop signs.
Pale
Feeble; weak
A pale rendition of the aria.
Dark
Deprived of sight; blind.
Pale
Light in color.
I have pale yellow wallpaper.
She had pale skin because she didn't get much sunlight.
Dark
Transmitting, reflecting, or receiving inadequate light to render timely discernment or comprehension: caliginous, darkling, dim, gloomy, lightless, sombre.
Pale
(of human skin) Having a pallor (a light color, especially due to sickness, shock, fright etc.).
His face turned pale after hearing about his mother's death.
Dark
(of colour) Dull or deeper in hue; not bright or light.
My sister's hair is darker than mine;
Her skin grew dark with a suntan
Pale
Feeble, faint.
He is but a pale shadow of his former self.
The son's clumsy paintings are a pale imitation of his father's.
Dark
Ambiguously or unclearly expressed: enigmatic, esoteric, mysterious, obscure, undefined.
Pale
(intransitive) To turn pale; to lose colour.
Dark
Marked by or conducted with secrecy: hidden, secret; clandestine, surreptitious.
Pale
(intransitive) To become insignificant.
Dark
Without moral or spiritual light; sinister, malign.
A dark villain;
A dark deed
Pale
(transitive) To make pale; to diminish the brightness of.
Dark
Conducive to hopelessness; depressing or bleak.
The Great Depression was a dark time;
The film was a dark psychological thriller
Pale
To enclose with pales, or as if with pales; to encircle or encompass; to fence off.
Dark
(of a time period) Lacking progress in science or the arts.
Pale
(obsolete) Paleness; pallor.
Dark
Extremely sad, depressing, or somber, typically due to, or marked by, a tragic or undesirable event.
September 11, 2001, the day when four terrorist attacks destroyed the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, is often referred to as America's dark day.
Pale
A wooden stake; a picket.
Dark
With emphasis placed on the unpleasant aspects of life; said of a work of fiction, a work of nonfiction presented in narrative form, or a portion of either.
The ending of this book is rather dark.
Pale
(archaic) Fence made from wooden stake; palisade.
Dark
Off the air; not transmitting.
Pale
(by extension) Limits, bounds (especially before of).
Dark
A complete or (more often) partial absence of light.
Dark surrounds us completely.
Pale
The bounds of morality, good behaviour or judgment in civilized company, in the phrase beyond the pale.
Dark
(uncountable) Ignorance.
We kept him in the dark.
The lawyer was left in the dark as to why the jury was dismissed.
Pale
(heraldry) A vertical band down the middle of a shield.
Dark
(uncountable) Nightfall.
It was after dark before we got to playing baseball.
Pale
(archaic) A territory or defensive area within a specific boundary or under a given jurisdiction.
Dark
A dark shade or dark passage in a painting, engraving, etc.
Pale
(historical) The parts of Ireland under English jurisdiction.
Dark
(intransitive) To grow or become dark, darken.
Pale
(historical) The territory around Calais under English control (from the 14th to 16th centuries).
Dark
(intransitive) To remain in the dark, lurk, lie hidden or concealed.
Pale
(historical) A portion of Russia in which Jews were permitted to live.
Dark
(transitive) To make dark, darken; to obscure.
Pale
(archaic) The jurisdiction (territorial or otherwise) of an authority.
Dark
Destitute, or partially destitute, of light; not receiving, reflecting, or radiating light; wholly or partially black, or of some deep shade of color; not light-colored; as, a dark room; a dark day; dark cloth; dark paint; a dark complexion.
O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,Irrecoverably dark, total eclipseWithout all hope of day!
In the dark and silent grave.
Pale
A cheese scoop.
Dark
Not clear to the understanding; not easily seen through; obscure; mysterious; hidden.
The dark problems of existence.
What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be found more plain.
What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word?
Pale
Wanting in color; not ruddy; dusky white; pallid; wan; as, a pale face; a pale red; a pale blue.
Speechless he stood and pale.
They are not of complexion red or pale.
Dark
Destitute of knowledge and culture; in moral or intellectual darkness; unrefined; ignorant.
The age wherein he lived was dark, but heCould not want light who taught the world to see.
The tenth century used to be reckoned by mediæval historians as the darkest part of this intellectual night.
Pale
Not bright or brilliant; of a faint luster or hue; dim; as, the pale light of the moon.
The night, methinks, is but the daylight sick;It looks a little paler.
Dark
Evincing black or foul traits of character; vile; wicked; atrocious; as, a dark villain; a dark deed.
Left him at large to his own dark designs.
Pale
Paleness; pallor.
Dark
Foreboding evil; gloomy; jealous; suspicious.
More dark and dark our woes.
A deep melancholy took possesion of him, and gave a dark tinge to all his views of human nature.
There is, in every true woman-s heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.
Pale
A pointed stake or slat, either driven into the ground, or fastened to a rail at the top and bottom, for fencing or inclosing; a picket.
Deer creep through when a pale tumbles down.
Dark
Deprived of sight; blind.
He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years.
Pale
That which incloses or fences in; a boundary; a limit; a fence; a palisade.
Dark
Absence of light; darkness; obscurity; a place where there is little or no light.
Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out.
Pale
A space or field having bounds or limits; a limited region or place; an inclosure; - often used figuratively.
Dark
The condition of ignorance; gloom; secrecy.
Look, what you do, you do it still i' th' dark.
Till we perceive by our own understandings, we are as much in the dark, and as void of knowledge, as before.
Pale
A region within specified bounds, whether or not enclosed or demarcated.
Dark
A dark shade or dark passage in a painting, engraving, or the like; as, the light and darks are well contrasted.
The lights may serve for a repose to the darks, and the darks to the lights.
Pale
A stripe or band, as on a garment.
Dark
To darken; to obscure.
Pale
One of the greater ordinaries, being a broad perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon, equally distant from the two edges, and occupying one third of it.
Dark
Absence of light or illumination
Pale
A cheese scoop.
Dark
Absence of moral or spiritual values;
The powers of darkness
Pale
A shore for bracing a timber before it is fastened.
Dark
An unilluminated area;
He moved off into the darkness
Pale
To turn pale; to lose color or luster.
Apt to pale at a trodden worm.
Dark
The time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
Pale
To make pale; to diminish the brightness of.
The glowworm shows the matin to be near,And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire.
Dark
An unenlightened state;
He was in the dark concerning their intentions
His lectures dispelled the darkness
Pale
To inclose with pales, or as with pales; to encircle; to encompass; to fence off.
[Your isle, which stands] ribbed and paled inWith rocks unscalable and roaring waters.
Dark
Devoid or partially devoid of light or brightness; shadowed or black or somber-colored;
Sitting in a dark corner
A dark day
Dark shadows
The theater is dark on Mondays
Dark as the inside of a black cat
Pale
A wooden strip forming part of a fence
Dark
(used of color) having a dark hue;
Dark green
Dark glasses
Dark colors like wine red or navy blue
Pale
Turn pale, as if in fear
Dark
Brunet (used of hair or skin or eyes);
Dark eyes
Pale
Very light colored; highly diluted with white;
Pale seagreen
Pale blue eyes
Dark
Stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable;
Black deeds
A black lie
His black heart has concocted yet another black deed
Darth Vader of the dark side
A dark purpose
Dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility
The scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him
Pale
(of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble;
The pale light of a half moon
A pale sun
The late afternoon light coming through the el tracks fell in pale oblongs on the street
A pallid sky
The pale (or wan) stars
The wan light of dawn
Dark
Causing dejection;
A blue day
The dark days of the war
A week of rainy depressing weather
A disconsolate winter landscape
The first dismal dispiriting days of November
A dark gloomy day
Grim rainy weather
Pale
Lacking in vitality or interest or effectiveness;
A pale rendition of the aria
Pale prose with the faint sweetness of lavender
A pallid performance
Dark
Secret;
Keep it dark
The dark mysteries of Africa and the fabled wonders of the East
Pale
Abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress;
The pallid face of the invalid
Her wan face suddenly flushed
Dark
Showing a brooding ill humor;
A dark scowl
The proverbially dour New England Puritan
A glum, hopeless shrug
He sat in moody silence
A morose and unsociable manner
A saturnine, almost misanthropic young genius
A sour temper
A sullen crowd
Pale
Not full or rich;
High, pale, pure and lovely song
Dark
Lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture;
This benighted country
Benighted ages of barbarism and superstition
The dark ages
A dark age in the history of education
Dark
Marked by difficulty of style or expression;
Much that was dark is now quite clear to me
Those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure
Dark
Having skin rich in melanin pigments;
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The dark races
Dark-skinned peoples
Dark
Not giving performances; closed;
The theater is dark on Mondays
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