Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Artificially Lightened or Whitened: Refers to something, especially hair or fabric, that has been made lighter or white through a chemical process.
   • Faded or Dulled by Exposure: Describes something whose color has lost its original vividness or freshness, often due to sunlight, washing, or age.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • She had bleached blonde hair that contrasted with her dark eyebrows.
  • The bleached bones of the whale lay scattered on the beach.
  • The old flag was bleached by years of sun and wind.
  • He wore a pair of bleached jeans with holes in the knees.

Advanced Usage

• "Bleached out": An informal phrasal form emphasizing a complete loss of color or vitality.
  • The photograph was old and bleached out, making the faces hard to see.
• Used metaphorically to describe something stripped of its essential qualities or vitality.
  • The novel was a bleached, sanitized version of the original, controversial manuscript.

Variants and Related Words

• Bleach (verb/noun): The chemical agent or the act of applying it.
  • She used bleach to clean the bathroom tiles. (noun)
  • He decided to bleach his hair for the summer. (verb)
• Bleacher (noun): A usually uncovered bench for spectators, often at a sports field. (Etymology related to sun-bleaching).
• Sun-bleached (compound adjective): Specifically faded by the sun.
  • The sun-bleached wood of the dock was warm to the touch.

Synonyms

• Whitened: Made white.
• Faded: Having lost brightness or color.
• Decolorized: Having color removed.
• Washed-out: Pale and lacking in color or intensity.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• Bleach out: To remove color or stain through bleaching; to become pale or colorless.
  • The strong detergent bleached out the pattern on the shirt.
  • All the color had bleached out of the curtains.

Related Idioms

• Bleached blonde: A common phrase specifically describing hair that has been artificially lightened to a pale yellow or white shade.
  • The 1990s fashion was full of bleached blondes.

Adjective

1. (used of color) artificially produced; not natural
   • a bleached blonde
2. having lost freshness or brilliance of color
   • sun-bleached deck chairs
   • faded jeans
   • a very pale washed-out blue
   • washy colors