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
- chromatically adverb
- chromaticism noun
- nonchromatic adjective
- nonchromatically adverb
- unchromatic adjective
Etymology
Origin of chromatic
1590–1600; < Greek chrōmatikós, equivalent to chrōmat- ( chromato- ) + -ikos -ic
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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
Since it operated without the pouches of chromatic gel that Samaras had previously manipulated, he employed double exposures, colored lights, and paint to alter his images.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
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
The chromatic blue-UV reflectance arises from the interaction of the randomly arranged crystal structures of the epicuticular wax with light.
From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2024
Figure 4.54: Like chromatic and whole tone scales, a diminished scale is 11symmetrical11.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
