colorable
Americanadjective
-
capable of being colored.
-
seemingly valid, true, or genuine; plausible.
-
pretended; deceptive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of colorable
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at color, -able
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And I think someone who applies for a payout from this fund with a colorable case of weaponization, but gets denied, may well have standing.
From Slate • May 22, 2026
“We are very happy that the court has acknowledged that the plaintiffs have brought colorable constitutional claims forward,” said Mike Laux, an attorney for the teachers and students who filed suit.
From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024
“And I think Florida State knows that as well. I think they threw in anything they could potentially think of as a colorable argument to get them out of the grant-of-rights agreement.”
From Washington Times • Dec. 22, 2023
"This may not be criminal, but it is a colorable law school exam question for obstruction of justice, worth the analysis," White wrote.
From Salon • Sep. 1, 2021
The cession by the Iroquois of these same hunting-grounds, at the treaty of Fort Stanwix, while it gave the whites a colorable title, merely angered the northwestern Indians.
From The Winning of the West, Volume 1 From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, 1769-1776 by Roosevelt, Theodore
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
