The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word TAPERED
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More clues leading to the result TAPERED
- Thanks to exercise, looking hot and sweaty but gradually got thinner
- Record revolutionary coming to a point
- Liberal peer, corseted in a bit, got thinner
- Tread designed to accommodate drill narrowing at one end
- Dispensed with red tape — came to the point
- Record: wine gradually diminished
- Bureaucracy, having shifted communist to the right, came to a point
- Cart-horse bureaucracy, up to a point?
- Narrow head of tree monkey with rosy behind
- Embarrassed after strip, faded away
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "faded away" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case faded away = tapered.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does TAPERED mean?
TAPERED verb- To make thinner or narrower at one end.
- To diminish gradually.
- Narrowing gradually towards a point.
- Lit with a taper.