Colored — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective noun verb /ˈkə-lərd/ col·ored

Meaning & Definition of Colored

Colored (adjective)

  1. having color
  2. colorful
  3. marked by exaggeration or bias

Colored (noun)

  1. a person of a race other than white or of mixed race

Colored (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. marked by a variety of usually vivid colors

    "the highly colored glassware that is the studio's hallmark"

    similar: chromatic, colorful, kaleidoscopic, motley, multicolored, multihued, polychromatic, polychrome, prismatic, rainbow, varicolored, varied, variegated, various
    related: iridescent, opalescent, brave, bright, brilliant, gay, vibrant, flashy, garish, gaudy, loud, showy, splashy, checkered, dotted, patterned, plaid, plaided, striped, dappled, marbled, mottled, parti-color, piebald, pied, pinto, flecked, specked, speckled, spotted, banded, barred, brindled, streaked, striated, bichrome, bicolored, dichromatic, trichromatic, tricolor, two-tone, two-toned
    opposite: colorless, monochromatic, monochromic, monotone, self-colored, solid
    near: achromatic, bleached, decolorized, faded, washed-out, dull, faint, gray, neutral, pale, pallid, unbrilliant

Colored (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to give color or a different color to

    "per the couple's request, the baker used natural ingredients like beet juice and turmeric to color the icing for the wedding cake"

    similar: bepainted (archaic), dyed, painted, pigmented, stained, tinctured, tinged, tinted
    related: brightened, lightened, darkened, embrowned, toned (down), checkered, dappled, daubed, flecked, marbled, mottled, patterned, polychromed, specked, speckled, streaked, striated, striped, variegated
    opposite: decolorized
    near: blanched, bleached, whitened

  2. to add to the interest of by including made-up details

    "he gave a highly colored version of a rather mundane experience"

    similar: elaborated (on), embellished, embroidered, exaggerated, hyperbolized, magnified, padded, stretched
    related: dressed up, gussied up, amplified, enhanced, enlarged (on or upon), expanded, fleshed (out), fudged, hedged, overdid, overdrew, overemphasized, overplayed, overstated, emphasized, played up, stressed, caricatured, satirized
    near: belittled, minimized, played down, understated

  3. to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of

    "his news reporting is colored by his prejudices"

    similar: bent, cooked, distorted, falsified, fudged, garbled, misinterpreted, misrelated, misrepresented, misstated, perverted, slanted, twisted, warped
    related: misdescribed, misspoke, mistranslated, belied, camouflaged, disguised, dissembled, glossed (over), masked, veiled, whitewashed, bowdlerized, censored, complicated, confounded, confused, mistook, mixed (up), mystified, obscured, equivocated, fibbed, lied, paltered, prevaricated
    near: clarified, cleared (up), explained, illuminated, illustrated, interpreted, spelled out, deciphered

  4. to develop a rosy facial color (as from excitement or embarrassment)

    "she colored after hearing the nasty remarks about her weight"

    similar: bloomed, blushed, crimsoned, flushed, glowed, reddened, turned color
    related: incarnadined, rouged, ruddled, abashed, chagrined, discomfited, disconcerted, embarrassed, fazed, humiliated, mortified

Related Entry: Color (verb)

Color is a different word from Colored. The synonyms below are for color, not for colored.

  1. to give color or a different color to

    "per the couple's request, the baker used natural ingredients like beet juice and turmeric to color the icing for the wedding cake"

    similar: bepaint (archaic), dye, paint, pigment, stain, tincture, tinge, tint
    related: brighten, lighten, darken, embrown, tone (down), checker, dapple, daub, fleck, marble, mottle, pattern, polychrome, speck, speckle, streak, striate, stripe, variegate
    opposite: decolorize
    near: blanch, bleach, whiten

  2. to add to the interest of by including made-up details

    "he gave a highly colored version of a rather mundane experience"

    similar: elaborate (on), embellish, embroider, exaggerate, hyperbolize, magnify, pad, stretch
    related: dress up, gussy up, amplify, enhance, enlarge (on or upon), expand, flesh (out), fudge, hedge, overdo, overdraw, overemphasize, overplay, overstate, emphasize, play up, stress, caricature, satirize
    near: belittle, minimize, play down, understate

  3. to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of

    "his news reporting is colored by his prejudices"

    similar: bend, cook, distort, falsify, fudge, garble, misinterpret, misrelate, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, slant, twist, warp
    related: misdescribe, misspeak, mistranslate, belie, camouflage, disguise, dissemble, gloss (over), mask, veil, whitewash, bowdlerize, censor, complicate, confound, confuse, mistake, mix (up), mystify, obscure, equivocate, fib, lie, palter, prevaricate
    near: clarify, clear (up), explain, illuminate, illustrate, interpret, spell out, decipher

  4. to develop a rosy facial color (as from excitement or embarrassment)

    "she colored after hearing the nasty remarks about her weight"

    similar: bloom, blush, crimson, flush, glow, redden, turn color
    related: incarnadine, rouge, ruddle, abash, chagrin, discomfit, disconcert, embarrass, faze, humiliate, mortify

Related Entry: Rose-colored (adjective)

Rose-colored is a different word from Colored. The synonyms below are for rose-colored, not for colored.

  1. having qualities which inspire hope

    "an incurable optimist sees the world through a rose-colored perspective"

    similar: auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, hopeful, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, roseate, rosy, upbeat
    related: cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing, assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating, beamish, bullish, eupeptic, favorable, good
    opposite: bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious
    near: cheerless, comfortless, doubtful, dubious, uncertain, bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable, funereal, glum, gray, miserable, wretched

Related Entry: Self-colored (adjective)

Self-colored is a different word from Colored. The synonyms below are for self-colored, not for colored.

  1. having or consisting of a single color

    "although a self-colored cat is most frequently black, it may also be brown, cream, lilac, blue, or red"

    similar: monochromatic, monochrome, monochromic, self, solid
    related: achromatic, neutral
    opposite: chromatic, colorful, kaleidoscopic, motley, multicolored, polychromatic, polychrome, rainbow, varicolored, varied, variegated
    near: dappled, marbled, shaded, mottled, parti-color, piebald, pied, pinto, skewbald, banded, barred, brindled, streaked, striated, checkered, dotted, patterned, plaid, striped, flecked, specked, speckled, spotted, bichrome, bicolored, dichromatic, trichromatic, tricolor, two-tone

Related Entry: Off-color (adjective)

Off-color is a different word from Colored. The synonyms below are for off-color, not for colored.

  1. hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent

    "the movie was rated PG-13 for some swearing and off-color jokes"

    similar: bawdy, blue, gamy, lewd, off, racy, ribald, risqué, salty, spicy, suggestive
    related: leering, barnyard, coarse, coarse-grained, crude, earthy, foul, gross, vulgar, dirty, filthy, gutter, indecent, lascivious, locker-room, nasty, obscene, pornographic, porny, prurient, raunchy, smutty, stag, unprintable, unpublishable, warm, X-rated, immodest, indecorous, indelicate, naughty
    near: clean, decent, G-rated, nonobscene, innocuous, inoffensive, priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, staid, straitlaced, Victorian, correct, decorous, genteel, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly

Related Entry: Parti-color (adjective)

Parti-color is a different word from Colored. The synonyms below are for parti-color, not for colored.

  1. as in mottled, marbled

    similar: dappled, marbled, mottled, piebald, pied, pinto, checkered, dotted, patterned, plaid, plaided, striped, flecked, specked, speckled, spotted, flashy, garish, gaudy, loud, showy, splashy, banded, barred, brindled, streaked, striated, brave, bright, brilliant, gay, vibrant, bichrome, bicolored, dichromatic, trichromatic, tricolor, two-tone, two-toned, iridescent, opalescent, chromatic, colored, colorful, kaleidoscopic, motley, multicolored, multihued, polychromatic, polychrome, prismatic, rainbow, varicolored, varied, variegated, various
    opposite: colorless, monochromatic, monochromic, monotone, self-colored, solid, achromatic, bleached, decolorized, faded, washed-out, dull, faint, gray, neutral, pale, pallid, unbrilliant

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Colored

The most common words with a similar meaning to Colored:

Archaic: bepainted
chromatic, colorful, kaleidoscopic, motley, multicolored, multihued, polychromatic, polychrome, prismatic, rainbow, varicolored, varied, variegated, various, dyed, painted, pigmented, stained, tinctured, tinged, tinted, elaborated (on), embellished, embroidered, exaggerated, hyperbolized, magnified, padded, stretched, bent, cooked, distorted, falsified, fudged, garbled, misinterpreted, misrelated, misrepresented, misstated, perverted

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Colored

Words with the opposite meaning of Colored:

colorless, monochromatic, monochromic, monotone, self-colored, solid, decolorized

Related Words for Colored

iridescent, opalescent, brave, bright, brilliant, gay, vibrant, flashy, garish, gaudy, loud, showy, splashy, checkered, dotted, patterned, plaid, plaided, striped, dappled, marbled, mottled, parti-color, piebald, pied, pinto, flecked, specked, speckled, spotted

Near Antonyms of Colored

achromatic, bleached, faded, washed-out, dull, faint, gray, neutral, pale, pallid, unbrilliant, blanched, whitened, belittled, minimized, played down, understated, clarified, cleared (up), explained, illuminated, illustrated, interpreted, spelled out, deciphered

Word Forms of Colored

Inflections: coloreds

Origin & Etymology of Colored

First known use: 14th century

Words & Phrases Containing Colored

flesh-colored, rose-colored, rose-colored glasses, self-colored, cream-colored, straw-colored

Frequently Asked Questions about Colored

What does "Colored" mean?

"Colored" means having color. As an an adjective, a noun and a verb, it is defined as: having color. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Colored"?

Other words for "Colored" include chromatic, colorful, kaleidoscopic, motley, multicolored, multihued, polychromatic and polychrome. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Colored" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Colored"?

There are 154 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Colored". Common alternatives include chromatic, colorful, kaleidoscopic, motley, multicolored, multihued, polychromatic, polychrome, prismatic and rainbow.

What is the opposite of "Colored"?

Antonyms of "Colored" include colorless, monochromatic, monochromic, monotone, self-colored, solid and decolorized. Near antonyms include achromatic, bleached, faded and washed-out.

How do you use "Colored" in a sentence?

Examples of "Colored" in a sentence: "the highly colored glassware that is the studio's hallmark"; "per the couple's request, the baker used natural ingredients like beet juice and turmeric to color the icing for the wedding cake"; "he gave a highly colored version of a rather mundane experience".

Is "Colored" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Colored" can be used as an adjective, a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Colored"?

"Colored" is pronounced /ˈkə-lərd/ and divided into syllables as col·ored.

What is the origin of the word "Colored"?

First known use: 14th century.