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
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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.
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
While it enables useful wavelength-dependent effects, it also causes chromatic aberrations that become more severe as bandwidth increases.
From Science Daily • Feb. 5, 2026
“There is some indication that chromatic composition of light, whether it is outdoors or from digital devices, is an important factor in this whole mechanism,” Khanal said.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2025
Finally, a survey exhibition of Zammitt’s art at the Palm Springs Art Museum is taking visitors on a glorious tour through his chromatic investigations.
From New York Times • Mar. 14, 2024
The Huygens brothers found a way to reduce chromatic aberration considerably by using a combination of two thin lenses in the eyepiece of a telescope, instead of one fat lens.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
