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col·or (k l  r)n.1. That aspect of things that is caused by differing qualities of the light reflected or emitted by them, definable in terms of the observer or of the light, as: a. The appearance of objects or light sources described in terms of the individual's perception of them, involving hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources. b. The characteristics of light by which the individual is made aware of objects or light sources through the receptors of the eye, described in terms of dominant wavelength, luminance, and purity. 2. A substance, such as a dye, pigment, or paint, that imparts a hue. 3. a. The general appearance of the skin; complexion. b. A ruddy complexion. c. A reddening of the face; a blush. 4. The skin pigmentation of a person not categorized as white. 5. colors A flag or banner, as of a country or military unit. 6. colors The salute made during the ceremony of raising or lowering a flag. 7. colors A distinguishing symbol, badge, ribbon, or mark: the colors of a college. 8. colors One's opinion or position: Stick to your colors. 9. Character or nature. Often used in the plural: revealed their true colors. 10. a. Outward appearance, often deceptive: a tale with the merest color of truth. b. Appearance of authenticity: testimony that lends color to an otherwise absurd notion. 11. a. Variety of expression. b. Vivid, picturesque detail: a story with a lot of color in it. 12. Traits of personality or behavior that attract interest. 13. The use or effect of pigment in painting, as distinct from form. 14. Music Quality of tone or timbre. 15. Law A mere semblance of legal right. 16. A particle or bit of gold found in auriferous gravel or sand. 17. Physics A quantum characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction. v. col·ored, col·or·ing, col·ors v.tr.1. To impart color to or change the color of. 2. a. To give a distinctive character or quality to; modify. See Synonyms at bias. b. To exert an influence on; affect: The war colored the soldier's life. 3. a. To misrepresent, especially by distortion or exaggeration: color the facts. b. To gloss over; excuse: a parent who colored the children's lies. v.intr.1. a. To take on color. b. To change color. 2. To become red in the face; blush.
[Middle English colour, from Old French, from Latin color; see kel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
color·er n. Usage Note: Dissatisfaction with the implications of nonwhite as a racial label has doubtless contributed to the recent popularity of the term person of color and others, such as woman of color, with the same construction. In effect, person of color stands nonwhite on its head, substituting a positive for a negative. It is interesting that the almost exclusive association in American English of colored with Black does not carry over to terms formed with "of color," which are used inclusively of most groups other than those of European origin. See Usage Notes at colored, nonwhite. | color |
color Noun, vb
color (klr)1. The sensation produced by the effect of light waves striking the retina of the eye. The color of something depends mainly on which wavelengths of light it emits, reflects, or transmits. 2. Color charge. See also hadron. A Closer Look When beams of colored light are mixed, or added, their wavelengths combine to form other colors. All spectral colors can be formed by mixing wavelengths corresponding to the additive primaries red, green, and blue. When two of the additive primaries are mixed in equal proportion, they form the complement of the third. Thus cyan (a mixture of green and blue) is the complement of red; magenta (a mixture of blue and red) is the complement of green; and yellow (a mixture of red and green) is the complement of blue. Mixing the three additive primaries in equal proportions reconstitutes white light. When light passes through a color filter, certain wavelengths are absorbed, or subtracted, while others are transmitted. The subtractive primaries cyan, magenta, and yellow can be combined using overlapping filters to form all other colors. When two of the subtractive primaries are combined in equal proportion, they form the additive primary whose wavelength they share. Thus overlapping filters of cyan (blue and green) and magenta (blue and red) filter out all wavelengths except blue; magenta (blue and red) and yellow (red and green) transmit only red; and yellow (red and green) and cyan (blue and green) transmit only green. Combining all three subtractive primaries in equal proportions filters out all wavelengths, producing black. Light striking a colored surface behaves similarly to light passing through a filter, with certain wavelengths being absorbed and others reflected. Pigments are combined to form different colors by a process of subtractive absorption of various wavelengths. |
Color1. the total absence of color.
2. the ability to emit, reflect, or transmit light without breaking down into separate colors. Also achromatism. color blindness. Also called acritochromacy. a variety of color blindness characterized by an inability to distinguish blue. the condition of being or becoming white or whitish. — albescent, adj. the process of turning white or whitish. the condition or quality of changing in color or luster depending on the angle of light, exhibited especially by a gemstone that reflects a single shaft of light when cut in cabochon form. — chatoyant, adj. the branch of opties that studies the properties of colors. 1. Opties, dispersion or distortion of color. 2. abnormal coloration. See also botany. the study of colors. Also called chromatography. an instrument consisting of an arrangement of colored dises which, when rotated rapidly, give the impression of colors flowing to or from the center. an abnormal fear of colors. a device for measuring the degree of a person’s sense of color. the process of color printing. the measurement of the physical intensity of colors, as opposed to their subjective brightness. — colorimeter, n. — colorimetric, colorimetrical, adj. the measurement of the intensity of the sky’s blue color. — cyanometer, n. — cyanometric, adj. red-green color blindness. a defect of the eyesight in which the retina does not respond to green. — deuteranope, n. — deuteranopic, adj. a property, peculiar to certain crystals, of reflecting light in two different colors when viewed from two different directions. — dichroic, adj. 1. the quality of being dichromatic, or having two colors.
2. a form of color blindness in which the sufferer can perceive only two of the three primary colors and their variants. — dichromatic, adj. difficulty in telling colors apart; color blindness. an abnormal fear of the color red. the condition of being florid or highly colored, especially reddish, used especially of the complexion. — florid, adj. 1. the state or quality of being a silvery or bluish green in color.
2. the process of turning this color. — glaucescent, adj. the occurrence of unusually intense coloration. — hyperchromatic, adj. an instrument used for determining the strength of an indigo solution. the practice and art of determining the strength and coloring power of an indigo solution. the state or condition of being colored like a rainbow or like the light shining through a prism. — iridescent, adj. the process of making or becoming iridescent. a polished black glass, the surface of which becomes iridescent when it is breathed upon through a tube. an optical device composed of red and violet glass that transmits red light only, used for distinguishing red in varicolored flames. change in color, especially as a result of change in temperature. 1. the quality of being of only one color or in only one color, as a work of art.
2. a defect of eyesight in which the retina cannot perceive color. — monochromatic, adj. the property of acting as a flxative in dyeing. — mordant, n., adj. the quality of being opallike, or milkily iridescent. — opalescent, adj. a faintness or deficiency in color. — pallid, adj. the quality or condition of being lsensitive to all colors, as certain types of photographic film. — panchromatic, adj. the state or quality of being multicolored. — polychromatic, polychromie, adj. a defect of the eyesight in which the retina does not respond to red. — protanope, n. — protanopic, adj. 1. the state, condition, quality, or process of becoming or being red.
2. a blush.
3. the act of blushing. — rubescent, adj. 1. the tendency to turn red or reddish.
2. reddishness. — rufescent, adj. a photograph of a spectrum. Also called spectrograph. 1. an optical device for breaking light down into a spectrum and recording the results photographically.
2. a spectrogram. — spectrographic, adj. the technique of using a spectrograph and producing spectrograms. a property, peculiar to certain crystals, of transmitting light of three different colors when viewed from three different directions. Also trichromatism. — trichroic, adj. 1. the condition of having, using, or combining three colors.
2. trichroism. — trichromatic, adj. a defect of the eyesight in which the retina does not respond to blue and yellow. — tritanope, n. — tritanopic, adj. the quality or condition of being green, as the condition of being covered with green plants or grass or inexperience attributable to youth. — verdant, adj. 1. the state or quality of being green or greenish.
2. greenishness. — viridescent, adj. a form of color blindness in which only yellow and blue can be perceived.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  color - a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect; "a white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light"heather mixture, heather - interwoven yarns of mixed colors producing muted greyish shades with flecks of color mottle - an irregular arrangement of patches of color; "it was not dull grey as distance had suggested, but a mottle of khaki and black and olive-green" tint, shade, tincture, tone - a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color; "after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted" | | 2. |  color - interest and variety and intensity; "the Puritan Period was lacking in color"; "the characters were delineated with exceptional vividness"interestingness, interest - the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.); "they said nothing of great interest"; "primary colors can add interest to a room" | | 3. | color - the timbre of a musical sound; "the recording fails to capture the true color of the original music"timbre, tone, quality, timber - (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound); "the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely"; "the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet" | | 4. | color - a race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks)race - people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock; "some biologists doubt that there are important genetic differences between races of human beings" | | 5. | color - an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading; "he hoped his claims would have a semblance of authenticity"; "he tried to give his falsehood the gloss of moral sanction"; "the situation soon took on a different color"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; "the plaintiff claimed that under color of law the officer had deprived him of his civil rights" face value - the apparent worth as opposed to the real worth camouflage, disguise - an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something; "the theatrical notion of disguise is always associated with catastrophe in his stories" verisimilitude - the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true | | 6. | color - any material used for its color; "she used a different color for the trim"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; "artists use `paint' and `pigment' interchangeably" material, stuff - the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object; "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is the stuff they use to make bread" 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 | | 7. | color - (physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction; "each flavor of quarks comes in three colors"kind, sort, form, variety - a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality; "sculpture is a form of art"; "what kinds of desserts are there?" | | 8. | color - the appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person's perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation | | Verb | 1. | color - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film"alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" azure - color azure; "Morning azured the village" brown, embrown - make brown in color; "the draught browned the leaves on the trees in the yard" tinct, tint, tinge, touch - color lightly; "her greying hair was tinged blond"; "the leaves were tinged red in November" pigment - color or dye with a pigment; "pigment a photograph" retouch - give retouches to (hair); "retouch the roots" silver - make silver in color; "Her worries had silvered her hair" gray, grey - make grey; "The painter decided to grey the sky" tone - change to a color image; "tone a photographic image" redden - make red; "The setting sun reddened the sky" blotch, mottle, streak - mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained discolor - lose color or turn colorless; "The painting discolored" | | 2. | color - affect as in thought or feeling; "My personal feelings color my judgment in this case"; "The sadness tinged his life" | | 3. | color - modify or bias; "His political ideas color his lectures"act upon, influence, work - have and exert influence or effect; "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate" | | 4. | color - decorate with colors; "color the walls with paint in warm tones"miniate - paint with red lead or vermilion | | 5. | color - give a deceptive explanation or excuse for; "color a lie" | | 6. | color - change color, often in an undesired manner; "The shirts discolored"blush, crimson, flush, redden - turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame; "The girl blushed when a young man whistled as she walked by" sunburn, burn - get a sunburn by overexposure to the sun change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" white, whiten - turn white; "This detergent will whiten your laundry" turn - change color; "In Vermont, the leaves turn early" silver - turn silver; "The man's hair silvered very attractively" dye - color with dye; "Please dye these shoes" redden - turn red or redder; "The sky reddened" gray, grey - turn grey; "Her hair began to grey" yellow - turn yellow; "The pages of the book began to yellow" tone - change the color or tone of; "tone a negative" green - turn or become green; "The trees are greening" | | Adj. | 1. | color - having or capable of producing colors; "color film"; "he rented a color television"; "marvelous color illustrations"black and white, black-and-white - not having or not capable of producing colors; "black-and-white film"; "a black-and-white TV"; "the movie was in black and white" black and white, black-and-white - not having or not capable of producing colors; "black-and-white film"; "a black-and-white TV"; "the movie was in black and white" |
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