Some residents fear, however, that the town is fading into irrelevance.

Without careful definition, the association could easily fade into irrelevance.

All those questions faded into irrelevance with bin Laden's death on Sunday.

During this time, many of the old elitist parties that had previously dominated Bolivian politics either disappeared or faded into irrelevance.

Whatever the intentions, the bawdy and the seedy, I am afraid, faded into irrelevance, overpowered by the sweetness surrounding them.

It's also an embarrassment for the Orange Bowl itself, which has to suffer through yet another forgettable game in its sad, extended fade into irrelevance.

After more than 11 years of economic stagnation, a rising generation of decision-makers has watched, with mounting fears, as Japan fades into irrelevance.

Those disagreements might have faded into irrelevance if Mr. Wolfowitz had not waged other battles with the staff, many bank officials say.

Quigley Jr. attempted to maintain the influence of the Code, especially in the 1960s as it faded into irrelevance as moral standards changed.

Ghaffar Hussain: Islamist groups have had to face a stark reality: conform to the changing environment or fade into irrelevance

The Teamsters union made its recommendations as other unions put forward proposals as part of a fierce debate over how to remake organized labor to prevent it from fading into irrelevance.

Instead, he preferred to let them fade into irrelevance until he was ready to deliver the coup de grâce, which came in October, when he ordered all military personnel to withdraw from them.

With the final triumph of the military faction on the accession of Alexius I Comnenus the Senate began to fade into irrelevance and the title of Senator could be bought from the Emperor.

Unions represent 14 percent of all workers, down from 35 percent in the 1950's, and Mr. Sweeney has repeatedly warned that unless labor recruits millions of workers, it risks fading into irrelevance and losing its bargaining clout.

He is one of several advocates of Chechen independence from Russia who are operating what amounts to a government in exile here in Istanbul, while the Russian-installed government of Chechnya, a republic in southern Russia, has faded into irrelevance.

William Hurlbut, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, said that old rivalries fade into irrelevance and that naturally introverted people venture forth emotionally at a time of serious threat, all in the service of the most primal human drive, to preserve the species.

But all of that will fade into irrelevance unless the international community demonstrates the will to promote a settlement plan that goes beyond the generalities offered by President Bush and shows how a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders can be achieved without threatening Israel's security.

Among the early examples are a couple of sprightly Cubist paeans to the city, a tip of the hat to technology and a wistful hint of utopia, but they fade into irrelevance before the powerful lures of naked women, unnatural disasters and the inventive excesses of hell.

Kevin Landis, portfolio manager for the Firsthand Technology Value fund and Technology Leaders fund in San Jose, Calif., said a snap market reaction to legal battles generally fades into irrelevance over time, as continued innovation renders disputes moot faster than they can be resolved.