colored

col·ored  (klrd)

adj.

1. Having color: colored tissue paper.

2. also Colored Often Offensive

a. Of or belonging to a racial group not categorized as white.

b. Black or African-American.

c. Of mixed racial descent.

3. often Coloured South African Of or belonging to a population grouping made up of persons of mixed racial descent or of certain other nonwhite descent, especially as distinguished during apartheid from Blacks, Asians, or whites.

4. Distorted or biased, as by irrelevant or incorrect information.

n. pl. colored or coloreds

1. also Colored Offensive

a. A person belonging to a racial group not categorized as white.

b. A Black person; an African American.

c. A person of mixed racial descent.

2. often Coloured South African A person belonging to the Coloured population grouping, especially during apartheid.

Usage Note: As a racial label, colored can simply mean nonwhite, but in the United States its usage has generally been restricted to persons of African descent. Though long a preferred term among Black Americans, it lost favor as the 20th century progressed, and its use today is often taken to be offensive. In South Africa, where it is spelled as in British English and usually written uppercase, Coloured has generally been used to refer to persons of mixed racial descent as opposed to those of unmixed Black African, Asian, or European origin. Its use as an official ethnic label ended when apartheid was dismantled in 1991. See Usage Note at color.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	colored - a United States term for Blacks that is now considered offensive colored person archaicism, archaism - the use of an archaic expression Black person, blackamoor, Negro, Negroid, Black - a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa)
Adj.	1.	colored - having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination; "colored crepe paper"; "the film was in color"; "amber-colored heads of grain" coloured, colorful uncolored, uncoloured - without color; "pure water is uncolored"
	2.	colored - having skin rich in melanin pigments; "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"; "dark-skinned peoples" dark-skinned, non-white, coloured, dark black - of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin; "a great people--a black people--...injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization"- Martin Luther King Jr.
	3.	colored - favoring one person or side over another; "a biased account of the trial"; "a decision that was partial to the defendant" biased, coloured, slanted, one-sided partial - showing favoritism
	4.	colored - (used of color) artificially produced; not natural; "a bleached blonde" dyed, bleached, coloured artificial, unreal - contrived by art rather than nature; "artificial flowers"; "artificial flavoring"; "an artificial diamond"; "artificial fibers"; "artificial sweeteners"