pall
1 of 3verb (1)
ˈpȯl 
palled; palling; palls
intransitive verb
1
: to lose strength or effectiveness
2
: to lose in interest or attraction
his humor began to pall on us
He found that his retirement hobbies began to pall after a couple of years.
3
: dwindle
our enthusiasm soon palled
transitive verb
1
: to cause to become insipid
reason and reflection … pall all his enjoyments
Francis Atterbury
Francis Atterbury2
: to deprive of pleasure in something by satiating
The choicest delicacies pall the stomach in time.
pall
2 of 3noun
1
: pallium sense 1a
2
a
: a square of linen usually stiffened with cardboard that is used to cover the chalice
b(1)
: a heavy cloth draped over a coffin
(2)
: a coffin especially when holding a body
3
a
: something that covers or conceals
especially : an overspreading element that produces an effect of gloom
a pall of thick black smoke
a pall of suspicion
b
: a feeling of gloom
his absence cast a pall over the celebration
pall
3 of 3verb (2)
palled; palling; palls
transitive verb
: to cover with a pall : drape
Synonyms
Verb (1)
- abate
- de-escalate
- decline
- decrease
- die (away or down or out)
- diminish
- drain (away)
- drop (off)
- dwindle
- ease
- ebb
- fall
- fall away
- lessen
- let up
- lower
- moderate
- phase down
- ratchet (down)
- rachet (down)
- recede
- relent
- remit
- shrink
- subside
- taper
- taper off
- wane
Noun
- bier
- box
- casket
- coffin
- sarcophagus
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun bearing her husband's pall were her four brothers and two nephews a persistent pall of distrust has overtaken this administration and will remain until the president resigns
Recent Examples on the Web Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Aug. 2022 The piling-one-emergency-atop-another structure — always a tricky thing to sustain — does begin to pall in the later going as inspiration tapers off a bit. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 2 June 2022 For some, this too muchness, married to Wilder’s bookish mischief, will pall. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 If there was no Venice, does that mean that the overall attraction of an Adriatic cruise would pall? Julia Buckley, CNN, 8 May 2021 Reduced to highlights and stripped of distinction, Percy’s adventures with Furies, oracles, Medusa, Ares and Hades quickly pall. Jesse Green, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2019 After a while, though, Inuk Mathaussen found even that started to pall. New York Times, 16 Sep. 2019 Grant’s drinking is handled so repetitively that the subject begins to pall. Janet Maslin, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017 Jenny is lovably hateful, but eventually, even the pleasure of inwardly hissing at her begins to pall. Charles Isherwood, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2016 Brendan Morrow, The Week, 29 July 2022 Rapidly falling property values historically have put a pall on commercial-property deal making as buyers have stepped to the sidelines and sellers have resisted cutting prices. Peter Grant And Rebecca Picciotto, WSJ, 26 July 2022 In its opening minutes, July’s ruminative voice-over warns the viewer of the Kraffts’ eventual deaths at the base of Japan’s Mount Unzen in 1991, casting a melancholic pall over the narrative to come. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 21 July 2022 Walky Joseph and Butch Genetti, a former officer and current Malden police commissioner who was a pall bearer at Frank Borseti’s funeral, removed some tape, unveiling Frank Borseti’s name on the wall of honor. Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, 12 July 2022 News about the environment rarely is good these days, but a string of grim developments locally, regionally and internationally cast a particular pall over the otherwise sunny arrival of summer. Michael Smolenscolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 June 2022 Despite a pall cast over the grocery delivery market in recent weeks, Czech player Rohlik has sealed a €220 million Series D round. Jonathan Keane, Forbes, 17 June 2022 When the thick pall of a gunman’s smoke bombs cleared on the 36th Street subway platform on April 12, at least four of the people struck by bullets or injured in the ensuing panic were revealed to be children or teenagers. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 In the iconic pall mall scene, Eloise and Benedict join the competitive fun on the show. Emily Burack, Town & Country, 1 Apr. 2022 See More
Verb
But after a time, the combination of abrasive, impenetrably shellacked characters and deliberately, hopelessly tangled shaggy-dog storytelling begins to pall, and viewers may wish for a simpler way in. Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Aug. 2022 The piling-one-emergency-atop-another structure — always a tricky thing to sustain — does begin to pall in the later going as inspiration tapers off a bit. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 2 June 2022 For some, this too muchness, married to Wilder’s bookish mischief, will pall. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 If there was no Venice, does that mean that the overall attraction of an Adriatic cruise would pall? Julia Buckley, CNN, 8 May 2021 Reduced to highlights and stripped of distinction, Percy’s adventures with Furies, oracles, Medusa, Ares and Hades quickly pall. Jesse Green, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2019 After a while, though, Inuk Mathaussen found even that started to pall. New York Times, 16 Sep. 2019 Grant’s drinking is handled so repetitively that the subject begins to pall. Janet Maslin, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017 Jenny is lovably hateful, but eventually, even the pleasure of inwardly hissing at her begins to pall. Charles Isherwood, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2016 Noun
Some sampling drama has cast a bit of a pall over an otherwise momentous day for the Beyhive. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 29 July 2022 Rapidly falling property values historically have put a pall on commercial-property deal making as buyers have stepped to the sidelines and sellers have resisted cutting prices. Peter Grant And Rebecca Picciotto, WSJ, 26 July 2022 In its opening minutes, July’s ruminative voice-over warns the viewer of the Kraffts’ eventual deaths at the base of Japan’s Mount Unzen in 1991, casting a melancholic pall over the narrative to come. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 21 July 2022 Walky Joseph and Butch Genetti, a former officer and current Malden police commissioner who was a pall bearer at Frank Borseti’s funeral, removed some tape, unveiling Frank Borseti’s name on the wall of honor. Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, 12 July 2022 News about the environment rarely is good these days, but a string of grim developments locally, regionally and internationally cast a particular pall over the otherwise sunny arrival of summer. Michael Smolenscolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 June 2022 Despite a pall cast over the grocery delivery market in recent weeks, Czech player Rohlik has sealed a €220 million Series D round. Jonathan Keane, Forbes, 17 June 2022 When the thick pall of a gunman’s smoke bombs cleared on the 36th Street subway platform on April 12, at least four of the people struck by bullets or injured in the ensuing panic were revealed to be children or teenagers. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 In the iconic pall mall scene, Eloise and Benedict join the competitive fun on the show. Emily Burack, Town & Country, 1 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English, short for appallen to become pale — more at appall
Noun
Middle English, cloak, mantle, from Old English pæll, from Latin pallium
First Known Use
Verb (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb (2)
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing pall
Kids Definition
pall 1 of 2
verb
ˈpȯl
palled; palling
: to become dull
pall
2 of 2noun
1
: a heavy cloth covering for a coffin, hearse, or tomb
2
: something that makes things gloomy or depressing
The news put a pall on the celebration.
pall 1 of 2
noun
1
as in coffin
a boxlike container for holding a dead body bearing her husband's pall were her four brothers and two nephews Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- coffin
- casket
- bier
- tomb
- urn
- sarcophagus
- sepulcher
- charnel
- box
- vault
- sepulchre
- crypt
- sepulture
- charnel house
- body bag
2
as in cloud
an overspreading element that produces an atmosphere of gloom a persistent pall of distrust has overtaken this administration and will remain until the president resigns Synonyms & Similar Words
- cloud
- fog
- veil
- shadow
- haze
- shroud
- darkness
- mist
- mantle
- murk
- midnight
- night
- penumbra
- umbra
3
as in shroud
something that covers or conceals like a piece of cloth a pall of gloom overshadowed the failing theater's last production Synonyms & Similar Words
- shroud
- veil
- cloak
- blanket
- wraps
- curtain
- mantle
- robe
- mask
- covering
- hood
- penumbra
- cover
- coverture
- cope
- shield
- cover-up
- screen
- blind
- veneer
- varnish
- facade
- face
- camouflage
- fig leaf
- gloss
- disguise
- concealer
- Potemkin village
- façade
- Trojan horse
pall
2 of 2verb
as in to subside
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually viewers' interest in the reality show eventually palled Synonyms & Similar Words
- subside
- diminish
- decrease
- vanish
- fall
- ease
- decline
- ebb
- taper
- phase down
- shrink
- recede
- wane
- taper off
- fall away
- remit
- moderate
- abate
- dwindle
- lessen
- evaporate
- relent
- lower
- rachet (down)
- die (away or down or out)
- ratchet (down)
- weaken
- let up
- collapse
- drain (away)
- contract
- alleviate
- relax
- drop (off)
- flag
- slacken
- compress
- constrict
- give out
- sink
- condense
- de-escalate
- fade (away)
- slow (down)
- fritter (away)
- tail (off)
- deflate
- melt (away)
- peter (out)
- cave (in)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rise
- mount
- intensify
- wax
- increase
- burgeon
- mushroom
- swell
- snowball
- accumulate
- grow
- balloon
- build
- soar
- expand
- enlarge
- emerge
- escalate
- appear
- pick up
- bourgeon
- lengthen
- elongate
- distend
- show up
- blow up
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of pall are cloy, glut, gorge, sate, satiate, and surfeit. While all these words mean "to fill to repletion," pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.
a life of leisure eventually begins to pall
While the synonyms cloy and pall are close in meaning, cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.
sentimental pictures that cloy after a while
Although the words glut and pall have much in common, glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.
a market glutted with diet books
While in some cases nearly identical to pall, gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.
gorged themselves with chocolate
Both satiate and sate may sometimes imply only complete satisfaction but more often suggest repletion that has destroyed interest or desire.
years of globe-trotting had satiated their interest in travel
readers were sated with sensationalistic stories
The meanings of surfeit and pall largely overlap; however, surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.
surfeited themselves with junk food