colour

Primary Meanings of colour

1.	n v adj	a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect decorate with colors having or capable of producing colors
2.	n	a race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks)
3.	n v	interest and variety and intensity modify or bias
4.	n	the timbre of a musical sound
5.	n	(physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction
6.	n v	an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading give a deceptive explanation or excuse for

Full Definitions of colour

n a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect

Synonyms:: color, coloring, colouring

Antonyms:: achromaticity, achromatism, colorlessness, colourlessness
the visual property of being without chromatic color

Types:: show 41 types...; hide 41 types...; primary color, primary colour
any of three colors from which all others can be obtained by mixing; heather, heather mixture
interwoven yarns of mixed colors producing muted greyish shades with flecks of color; mottle
an irregular arrangement of patches of color; shade, tincture, tint, tone
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color; chromatic color, chromatic colour, spectral color, spectral colour
a color that has hue; achromatic color, achromatic colour
a color lacking hue; white or grey or black; coloration, colouration
appearance with regard to color; complexion, skin color, skin colour
the coloring of a person's face; dithered color, dithered colour, nonsolid color, nonsolid colour
a color produced by a pattern of differently colored dots that together simulate the desired color; primary color for pigments, primary colour for pigments
any of three pigments from which all colors can be obtained by mixing; primary color for light, primary colour for light
any of three primary colors of light from which all colors can be obtained by additive mixing; mellowness
a soft shade of a color; richness
a strong deep vividness of hue; tinge, undertone
a pale or subdued color; black, blackness, inkiness
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white); white, whiteness
the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black); gray, grayness, grey, greyness
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black; red, redness
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood; orange, orangeness
orange color or pigment; any of a range of colors between red and yellow; salmon
a pale pinkish orange color; yellow, yellowness
yellow color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of sunflowers or ripe lemons; blond, blonde
a light grayish yellow to near white; green, greenness, viridity
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass; blue, blueness
blue color or pigment; resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime; purple, purpleness
a purple color or pigment; pink
a light shade of red; brown, brownness
an orange of low brightness and saturation; olive
a yellow-green color of low brightness and saturation; pastel
any of various pale or light colors; complementary, complementary color
either one of two chromatic colors that when mixed together give white (in the case of lights) or grey (in the case of pigments); hair coloring
coloring of the hair; pigmentation
coloration of living tissues by pigment; depigmentation
absence or loss of pigmentation (or less than normal pigmentation) in the skin or hair; blondness, fairness, paleness
the property of having a naturally light complexion; rosiness, ruddiness
a healthy reddish complexion; achromasia, lividity, lividness, luridness, paleness, pallidness, pallor, wanness
unnatural lack of color in the skin (as from bruising or sickness or emotional distress); sallowness
a sickly yellowish skin color; tawniness
the quality or state of being the color of tanned leather; darkness, duskiness, swarthiness
a swarthy complexion; whiteness
lightness or fairness of complexion; protective coloration
coloration making an organism less visible or attractive to predators

Type of:: visual property
an attribute of vision

n the appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person's perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation

Synonyms:: color

Type of:: appearance, visual aspect
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing

n any material used for its color

Synonyms:: color, coloring material, colouring material

Types:: show 96 types...; hide 96 types...; paint, pigment
a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating; indicator
(chemistry) a substance that changes color to indicate the presence of some ion or substance; can be used to indicate the completion of a chemical reaction or (in medicine) to test for a particular reaction; mordant
a substance used to treat leather or other materials before dyeing; aids in dyeing process; dye, dyestuff
a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair; tincture
a substances that colors metals; hematochrome
a reddish coloring material found in some algae; pigment
dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.); pigment
any substance whose presence in plant or animal tissues produces a characteristic color; stain
(microscopy) a dye or other coloring material that is used in microscopy to make structures visible; chlorophyl, chlorophyll
any of a group of green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms; there are four naturally occurring forms; bacteriochlorophyll
a substance in photosensitive bacteria that is related to but different from chlorophyll of higher plants; phycobilin
water-soluble proteinaceous pigments found in red algae and cyanobacteria; phycoerythrin
red pigment in red algae; phycocyanin
blue pigment in algae; acrylic, acrylic paint
used especially by artists; antifouling paint
a paint used to protect against the accumulation of barnacles etc. on underwater surfaces; coat of paint
a layer of paint covering something else; distemper
paint made by mixing the pigments with water and a binder; enamel
a paint that dries to a hard glossy finish; encaustic
a paint consisting of pigment mixed with melted beeswax; it is fixed with heat after application; finger paint, fingerpaint
paint that has the consistency of jelly; house paint, housepaint
paint used to cover the exterior woodwork of a house; oil paint
paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle; semigloss
a paint that dries with a finish between glossy and flat; spray paint
paint applied with a spray gun; water-base paint
paint in which water is used as the vehicle; absorption indicator
an indicator used in reactions that involve precipitation; acid-base indicator
an indicator that changes color on going from acidic to basic solutions; Molisch reaction, Molisch test, Molisch's test, alpha-naphthol test
biochemical indicator of the presence of carbohydrates in a solution; if carbohydrates are present a violet ring is formed by reaction with alpha-naphthol in the presence of sulfuric acid; titania, titanic oxide, titanium dioxide, titanium oxide
a white powder used as a pigment for its high covering power and durability; cobalt blue, cobalt ultramarine
greenish-blue pigment consisting essentially of cobalt oxide and alumina; earth color
a colored mineral used as a pigment; mosaic gold, stannic sulfide
a yellow pigment sometimes suspended in lacquer; carotenoid
any of a class of highly unsaturated yellow to red pigments occurring in plants and animals; acid dye
dye in which the chromophore is part of a negative ion; alizarin yellow
any of various yellow dyes; not related chemically to alizarin but applied in the same manner; anil, indigo, indigotin
a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically; aniline dye
any of many dyes made from aniline; animal pigment
pigment occurring in animals; azo dye
any dye containing one or more azo groups; crystal violet, gentian violet
a green crystal (violet in water) used as a dye or stain or bactericide or fungicide or anthelmintic or burn treatment; methylene blue, methylthionine chloride
a dark green dye used as a stain, an antiseptic, a chemical indicator, and an antidote in cyanide poisoning; basic color, basic colour, basic dye
a dye that is considered to be a base because the chromophore is part of a positive ion; cerulean blue
light greenish-blue pigment consisting essentially of oxides of cobalt and tin; chrome green
any of a class of green pigments consisting of chrome yellow and iron blue; Hooker's green
green pigment consisting of Prussian blue mixed with gamboge; chrome yellow
any of several yellow pigments consisting of normal lead chromate and other lead compounds; bister, bistre
a water-soluble brownish-yellow pigment made by boiling wood soot; flavonoid
any of a large class of plant pigments having a chemical structure based on or similar to flavone; Indian red
a red pigment composed in part from ferric oxide which is often used in paints and cosmetics; ivory black
a black pigment made from grinding burnt ivory in oil; Prussian blue, iron blue
any of various blue pigments; Payne's gray, Payne's grey
any pigment that produces a greyish to dark greyish blue; chrome alum
a violet-colored salt used in hide tanning and as a mordant in dyeing; antimony potassium tartrate, tartar emetic
a poisonous colorless salt used as a mordant and in medicine; oxidation-reduction indicator
an indicator that shows a reversible color change between oxidized and reduced forms; argent
a metal tincture used in heraldry to give a silvery appearance; alizarin, alizarine
an orange-red crystalline compound used in making red pigments and in dyeing; blue, blueing, bluing
used to whiten laundry or hair or give it a bluish tinge; bromophenol blue, bromphenol blue, tetrabromo-phenolsulfonephthalein
a dye used as an acid-base indicator; bromothymol blue, bromthymol blue
a dye used as an acid-base indicator; cochineal
a red dyestuff consisting of dried bodies of female cochineal insects; cyanine dye
any of a class of dyes containing a -CH= group linking two heterocyclic rings containing nitrogen; used as sensitizers in photography; direct dye, substantive dye
dye with a high affinity for cellulose fibers (cotton or rayon etc.); fluorescein, fluoresceine, fluorescent dye, resorcinolphthalein
a yellow dye that is visible even when highly diluted; used as an absorption indicator when silver nitrate solution is added to sodium chloride in order to precipitate silver chloride (turns pink when no chloride ions are left in solution and negative fluorescein ions are then absorbed); fluorochrome
any of various fluorescent substances used in fluorescence microscopy to stain specimens; hair coloring, hair dye
a dye or tint for the hair; Kendal, Kendal green
a green dye, often used to color cloth, which is obtained from the woad plant; lac dye
scarlet dye like cochineal; extracted with alkali from stick lac; lead acetate, sugar of lead
a poisonous white solid (Pb[CH3CO]2) used in dyeing cotton and in making enamels and varnishes; archil, cudbear, orchil
a purplish dye obtained from orchil lichens; bole
a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment); lake
any of numerous bright translucent organic pigments; lake
a purplish red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal; orange
any pigment producing the orange color; water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolour
water-soluble pigment; quercitron
a yellow dye made from the bark of the quercitron oak tree; radiopaque dye
dye that does not allow the passage of X rays or other radiation; used to outline certain organs during X-ray examination; saffranine, safranin, safranine
any of a class of chiefly red organic dyes; Tyrian purple
a red-purple to deep purple dye obtained from snails or made synthetically; vat color, vat dye
a water-insoluble dye that is applied by reducing the dye to an alkaline form, applying the dye, then regenerating the insoluble dye by oxidation in the material; used for dyeing cotton; woad
a blue dyestuff obtained from the woad plant; retinal, retinene
either of two yellow to red retinal pigments formed from rhodopsin by the action of light; Paris green
a toxic double salt of copper arsenate and copper acetate; sodium bichromate, sodium dichromate
a red-orange salt used as a mordant; sepia
rich brown pigment prepared from the ink of cuttlefishes; porphyrin
any of various pigments distributed widely in living tissues; haem, haemitin, hematin, heme, protoheme
a complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which oxygen binds; haemosiderin, hemosiderin
a granular brown substance composed of ferric oxide; left from the breakdown of hemoglobin; can be a sign of disturbed iron metabolism; counterstain
a stain of contrasting color that is used when the principal stain does not show the structure clearly; ultramarine, ultramarine blue
blue pigment made of powdered lapis lazuli; photopigment
a special pigment found in the rods and cones of the retina; cadmium yellow
pigment of cadmium sulfide and barium sulfate varying in hue from lemon yellow to orange; cupric acetate, verdigris
a blue or green powder used as a paint pigment; ceruse, lead carbonate, white lead
a poisonous white pigment that contains lead; Chinese white, zinc white
a white pigment used in house paints; consists of zinc oxide

Type of:: material, stuff
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object

v decorate with colors

Synonyms:: color, emblazon

Types:: miniate
paint with red lead or vermilion

Type of:: adorn, beautify, decorate, embellish, grace, ornament
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

v add color to

Synonyms:: color, color in, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize

Antonyms:: discolor
lose color or turn colorless

Types:: show 29 types...; hide 29 types...; blackwash
color with blackwash; motley, parti-color
make motley; color with different colors; polychrome, polychromise, polychromize
color with many colors; make polychrome; azure
color azure; empurple, purple, purpurate
color purple; aurify
turn golden; verdigris
color verdigris; pinkify
make pink; incarnadine
make flesh-colored; brown, embrown
make brown in color; handcolor, handcolour
color by hand; tinct, tinge, tint, touch
color lightly; pigment
color or dye with a pigment; hue, imbue
suffuse with color; retouch
give retouches to (hair); silver
make silver in color; gray, grey
make grey; tone
change to a color image; redden
make red; blotch, mottle, streak
mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained; henna
apply henna to one's hair; madder
color a moderate to strong red; tincture
stain or tint with a color; complexion
give a certain color to; encrimson
make crimson; vermilion
color vermilion; carmine
color carmine; rubify
make ruby red; ruddle
redden as if with a red ocher color

Type of:: alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

v change color, often in an undesired manner

Synonyms:: color, discolor, discolour

Types:: show 28 types...; hide 28 types...; blush, crimson, flush, redden
turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame; blanch, blench, pale
turn pale, as if in fear; bronze, tan
get a tan, from wind or sun; burn, sunburn
get a sunburn by overexposure to the sun; white, whiten
turn white; black, blacken, melanise, melanize, nigrify
make or become black; turn
change color; silver
turn silver; dye
color with dye; redden
turn red or redder; purple
become purple; gray, grey
turn grey; yellow
turn yellow; tone
change the color or tone of; green
turn or become green; blue
turn blue; suntan
get a tan from being exposed to the sun; bleach
make whiter or lighter; bronze
give the color and appearance of bronze to something; stain
color for microscopic study; deep-dye
dye thoroughly; impress, yarn-dye
dye (fabric) before it is spun; stain
color with a liquid dye or tint; fast dye
dye with fast colors; double dye
dye twice; hand-dye
dye by hand; piece-dye
dye after weaving; blush
become rosy or reddish

Type of:: change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature

adj having or capable of producing colors

Synonyms:: color

Antonyms:: black and white, black-and-white
not having or not capable of producing colors

n a race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks)

Synonyms:: color, people of color, people of colour

Type of:: race
people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock

n interest and variety and intensity

Synonyms:: color, vividness

Type of:: interest, interestingness
the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.)

v modify or bias

Synonyms:: color

Type of:: act upon, influence, work
have and exert influence or effect

v affect as in thought or feeling

Synonyms:: color, distort, tinge

Type of:: affect, bear on, bear upon, impact, touch, touch on
have an effect upon

n the timbre of a musical sound

Synonyms:: color, coloration, colouration

Type of:: quality, timber, timbre, tone
(music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)

n (physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction

Synonyms:: color

Type of:: form, kind, sort, variety
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality

n an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading

Synonyms:: color, gloss, semblance

Types:: show 6 types...; hide 6 types...; color of law, colour of law
a mere semblance of legal right; something done with the apparent authority of law but actually in contravention of law; simulacrum
an insubstantial or vague semblance; face value
the apparent worth as opposed to the real worth; guise, pretence, pretense, pretext
an artful or simulated semblance; camouflage, disguise
an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something; verisimilitude
the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true

Type of:: appearance, visual aspect
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing

v give a deceptive explanation or excuse for

Synonyms:: color, gloss

Type of:: apologise, apologize, excuse, justify, rationalise, rationalize
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning

Primary Meanings of colour

n a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect

n the appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person's perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation

n any material used for its color

v decorate with colors

v add color to

v change color, often in an undesired manner

adj having or capable of producing colors

n a race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks)

n interest and variety and intensity

v modify or bias

v affect as in thought or feeling

n the timbre of a musical sound

n (physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction

n an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading

v give a deceptive explanation or excuse for

alternate spellings

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