a gradation or variety of a color; tint.
pale hues.
the property of light by which the color of an object is classified as red, blue, green, or yellow in reference to the spectrum.
color.
all the hues of the rainbow.
form or appearance.
the attribute of colour that enables an observer to classify it as red, green, blue, purple, etc, and excludes white, black, and shades of grey See also colour
a shade of a colour
aspect; complexion
a different hue on matters
The property of colors by which they are seen as ranging from red through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, as determined by the dominant wavelength of the light.
Compare saturation value
First recorded before 900; Middle English hewe, Old English hīw “appearance, color, form”; cognate with Old Norse hȳ “bird's down,” Swedish hy “complexion, skin,” Gothic hiwi “appearance, form”; akin to Old English hār “gray” ( see hoar)
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English hu(e), from Middle French: “a hoot, outcry” (whence huer “to hoot, cry out”)
Green, orange, yellow, and blue — each of these is a hue, a color or a shade that's true. A rainbow shows the melting of one hue into another, from red to violet, and all shades in between. The noun hue means both a color and a shade of a color. Green is a hue, and turquoise is a hue of both green and blue. Most of the time the word hue refers to colors, but sometimes it's used for shades of meaning or even the tone of a person's face, as in "The speech had a hue of politics — disguised with humor — that turned the mayor's face from a pale hue to red as he laughed."
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The goal was to define hue, saturation, and lightness using only the geometric property of highest color similarity.
From Science Daily • Jun. 7, 2026
Blank Street rebranded last year, losing the word 'coffee' from its title and adopting a green hue.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
The new species, named Microeledone galapagensis, stands out for reasons other than its blue hue, which is believed to be the rarest colour in nature.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Increasingly a sinister hue attaches to Beijing’s preference for “open weight” models.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Among them, nodding on slender stalks, were other flowers, white and palest green: they glimmered as a mist amid the rich hue of the grass.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
