colorize

American  

[kuhl-uh-rahyz] / ˈkʌl əˌraɪz /

especially British, colorise

verb (used with object)

colorized, colorizing

1. to cause to appear in color; enhance with color, especially by computer.

   to colorize old black-and-white movies for television.

---

Other Word Forms

• colorization
  noun

---

Etymology

Origin of colorize

First recorded in 1955–60; color + -ize

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colorize colorized colorizing

It’s mission-critical for the concrete you’re going to colorize to be sound, clean and very slightly damp.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 25, 2024

Why did they colorize the blood on one victim’s face, but not any blood on the zombies?

From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2022

Once, while avoiding writing my book, I decided to colorize my bookshelves.

From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2018

Photos can also now colorize your older photos — even if they weren’t shot in color to begin with.

From The Verge ● May 8, 2018

But some lifeless specimens have slipped into the language, among them colorize, prioritize, and finalize, and they’re probably going to be around for a while.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

He placed two panels of 25 images each side by side, half colorized and half black and white, alluding to religious diptychs of the past.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

And a 1997 report from the outlet quoted a VideoScan stat indicating 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s colorized version of Shirley Temple’s “Heidi” sold 1.2 million copies versus 46,000 of its black-and-white version.

From Salon ● May 8, 2026

But then I found a colorized obscure album cover of Bob in the shirt, and it was green polka dot, which even made it, I think, less attractive to Jim.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025

Take a look at these colorized images of photos taken during the excavation process to see why.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

“I like your room,” I said, going over to look at a colorized Frankenstein poster on the wall.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

“It’s important to note that we never permanently altered the original black and whites,” he said, adding that he never thought colorizing those old movies was wrong.

From Salon ● May 8, 2026

If you’re colorizing your stucco, add some pigment to your cement paint, too.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 25, 2024

That colorizing wore off over the years, or was removed after ancient works were rediscovered.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2018

“It is becoming more accepted in a lot of applications,” said Dana Keller, who has a business colorizing still photographs, History in Color.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2016

It was obsessed by being besmirched and colorizing the besmirching.

From An Apostate: Nawin of Thais by Steven (Steven David Justin) Sills

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---