washed-out

American  

[wosht-out, wawsht-] / ˈwɒʃtˈaʊt, ˈwɔʃt- /

adjective

1. faded, especially from washing.

2. Informal.

   1. weary; exhausted.

   2. tired-looking; wan.

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washed out British  

adjective

1. faded or colourless

2. exhausted, esp when being pale in appearance

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washed out Idioms  

1. Faded in color; also, lacking animation. For example, This carpet is all washed out from the sun, or He looks all washed out. [Late 1700s; early 1800s] Also see wash out, def. 3.

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Etymology

Origin of washed-out

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

You turn in a slow circle, taking in the washed-out yellow-and-green signs pointing to the camping showers.

From Literature

Frances was trying to draw her out, but Anna May only answered with a washed-out half smile.

From Literature

Wearing a washed-out prison uniform and sporting a short grey beard, Masud listened as the hearing before judge Dabney L. Friedrich got under way at the District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday.

From BBC

I smiled and bounced heartily on the railcar bench, fluffing up my washed-out, red-checkered dress.

From Literature

In Jamaica, the impact was most severe in the southwestern parish of St Elizabeth, where knee-deep mud and washed-out bridges left towns such as Black River cut off.

From BBC