colorless

[kuhl-er-lis]

adjective

1. without color.

   Pure water is colorless.

2. pallid; dull in color.

   a colorless complexion.

3. lacking vividness or distinctive character; dull; insipid.

   a colorless description of the parade.

   Synonyms: lackluster, drab, dreary, unexciting

4. unbiased; neutral.

Other Word Forms

• colorlessly adverb
• colorlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of colorless¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; color, -less

Example Sentences

The colorless gas is also used to make chemicals found in products such as antifreeze, detergents, plastics and adhesives.

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Where the aged tree’s limbs once exploded into violet, singed branches crisscrossed in colorless sterility like an unfinished painting.

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Black-and-white drawings dominate the show’s first half, in which closely observed, acutely detailed faces emerge out of the blank void of colorless sheets of paper.

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Centers for Disease Control says chloroethane, which is also called ethyl chloride, is a colorless gas with a sharp odor that can also exist as a quick-evaporating liquid.

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“But if you come home and there is no smell, you can’t assume there’s nothing there, because a lot of the toxins we’re talking about are odorless and colorless.”

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Related Words

• dreary 
• dull 
• lackluster