colorable

[kuhl-er-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being colored.

2. seemingly valid, true, or genuine; plausible.

3. pretended; deceptive.

Other Word Forms

• colorability noun
• colorableness noun
• colorably adverb
• noncolorability noun
• noncolorable adjective
• noncolorableness noun
• noncolorably adverb
• precolorable adjective
• uncolorable adjective
• uncolorably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of colorable¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; color, -able

Example Sentences

“Even if the President may exaggerate the extent of the problem on social media, this does not change that other facts provide a colorable basis to support the statutory requirements,” the judges wrote.

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On top of a colorable selective and vindictive motion, Bolton may also have legal ethics claims for unfair pre-trail publicity and conflicts of interest.

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“We are very happy that the court has acknowledged that the plaintiffs have brought colorable constitutional claims forward,” said Mike Laux, an attorney for the teachers and students who filed suit.

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“And I think Florida State knows that as well. I think they threw in anything they could potentially think of as a colorable argument to get them out of the grant-of-rights agreement.”

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Thus, she asserted, the Georgia senator does not have any applicable "colorable federal defense."

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