off-color

[ awf-kuhl-er, of- ]
See synonyms for off-color on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not having the usual or standard color: an off-color gem.

  2. of doubtful propriety or taste; risqué: an off-color joke.

  1. not in one's usual health: to feel off-color.

Origin of off-color

1
First recorded in 1855–60
  • Also especially British, off-col·our .
  • Also off-col·ored (for defs. 1, 2) .

Other words for off-color

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use off-color in a sentence

  • A thing to be forgotten always is the off-color story with which some people persist in polluting the atmosphere.

    The Book of Courage | John Thomson Faris
  • Wherever three or four men are gathered together, they rapidly organize a clearing-house of off-color stories.

    Excuse Me! | Rupert Hughes
  • Then you suspected there was something a little off-color about that telegram?

    Motor Matt's Air Ship | Stanley R. Matthews
  • He tried to tell me an off-color story and forgot the point of it, if indeed it had any point.

    Europe Revised | Irvin S. Cobb
  • The painted stone may be detected by washing it with alcohol, when the dye will be removed and the off-color will become apparent.