Slow Fade
The slow fade is ending a relationship by gradually withdrawing — shorter replies, longer gaps, fewer plans — until the connection dies without anyone ever saying it's over.
Full definition of Slow Fade →:: COMPARE ::
Slow fadevsGhosting
The short answer
Ghosting is one silence and it's over. The slow fade is many small silences that never quite resolve — gentler in each individual moment, and frequently harder to recover from because there's no point at which you're allowed to call it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Slow fade | Ghosting |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Weeks or months | Instant |
| Each moment feels | Almost fine | Brutal |
| Overall | Prolonged doubt | Clean, if cruel |
| When it ends | When you decide | When they vanish |
What each one means
Ghosting
Ghosting is ending a relationship by cutting off all contact with no warning and no explanation — not a conversation about leaving, simply an absence where a person used to be. In electronics the same word names something unrelated: the faint duplicate image left on a screen or a printed page.
Full definition of Ghosting →