Etiolating refers to a process by which a plant becomes pale and weak due to lack of sunlight. Synonyms for etiolating include alarming, blanching, fading, bleaching, weakling, paling, and whitening. The most appropriate synonym will depend on the context in which etiolating is being used. For instance, the term 'weakling' may be more apt when referring to a person or animal that is becoming frail. Meanwhile, 'blanching' might be more fitting to describe a fading color. In summary, etiolating can be replaced contextually by any of these words, but each will carry slightly different meanings.