chromatic
Americanadjective
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pertaining to color or colors.
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Music.
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involving a modification of the normal scale by the use of accidentals.
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progressing by semitones, especially to a tone having the same letter name, as in C to C sharp.
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adjective
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of, relating to, or characterized by a colour or colours
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music
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involving the sharpening or flattening of notes or the use of such notes in chords and harmonic progressions
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of or relating to the chromatic scale or an instrument capable of producing it
a chromatic harmonica
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of or relating to chromaticism Compare diatonic
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chromatic
1590–1600; < Greek chrōmatikós, equivalent to chrōmat- ( see chromato-) + -ikos -ic
Compare meaning
How does chromatic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The adjective chromatic is useful for describing things related to color, like the beautiful chromatic variation of the sky at sunset. You could describe the chromatic intensity of a fireworks display or the excellent chromatic perception of an artist, who is skilled at seeing nuances of color. In physics, the word chromatic has to do with the scientific aspects of color and light. The earliest uses of chromatic, in the 1590s, only referred to music, but by the 1800s it was used to mean "color," which is also the meaning of the Greek root, khroma.
Vocabulary lists containing chromatic
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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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.
Behind the scenes, Moreno formulated her own Spanish-language takes on jazz, which listeners can hear in the 2006 funky, spy-like chromatic track “Escondidos” — which includes a kazoo solo in its outro.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
The treed “Woodland Garden” to the west, with black tupelo and swamp white oaks, gives way to a “Perennial Meadow,” whose asters, purple beebalms and orange butterfly weed were chosen for their chromatic effect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2025
The music itself blends jazz, blues and gospel music, creating a compositional voice the New York Times described as "dominated by lushly chromatic and modal harmonic writing, spiked with jagged rhythms and tart dissonance."
From Salon • Oct. 6, 2024
This roughly mimics the developmental progression of chromatic enrichment as babies' eyesight matures over the first years of life.
From Science Daily • May 23, 2024
It was a placid explosion of orange and red, a great chromatic symphony, a colour canvas of supernatural proportions, truly a splendid Pacific sunset, quite wasted on me.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
