coloration

[ kuhl-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. appearance with regard to color arrangement or use of colors; coloring:

   the bold coloration of some birds.

coloration

/ ˌkʌləˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. arrangement of colour and tones; colouring
2. See cryptic, aposematic, apatetic
   the colouring or markings of insects, birds, etc See also apatetic aposematic cryptic
3. unwanted extraneous variations in the frequency response of a loudspeaker or listening environment

Other Words From

• colo·ration·al adjective
• colo·ration·al·ly adverb
• de·color·ation noun
• over·color·ation noun
• precol·or·ation noun
• recol·or·ation noun
• transcol·or·ation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of coloration¹

First recorded in 1605–15; color + -ation

Example Sentences

Maybe the memories have flashed back to her with this coloration because they’re imbued with a different emotion, even one that is hard to express.

From Vox

His new series, produced by Humble Bee Films, offers a unique and literally eye-opening window onto both the mechanics and utility of animal coloration.

From Nautilus

Fresh revelations about the hows and whys of animal coloration are revealed in David Attenborough’s Life in Color, a documentary available on Netflix.

From Nautilus

They stand out in a crowd because of their yellow and pale green coloration.

From Washington Post

Many varieties of this native tree have been developed, some for different flower color, others for leaf coloration and others for growth habit.

From Washington Post

Individual gorillas were identified by face shape, body shape, and pelage coloration.

From The Daily Beast

How, then, did the first day of the Christmas-shopping season come to have the coloration of calamity?

From The Daily Beast

And Prince Harry may be a Windsor, but in coloration and temperament he is indubitably a flaming-red Spencer.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps the most noticeable feature in connection with the fall of the leaves is that so many of them take on a rich coloration.

From Project Gutenberg

These specimens differ noticeably from the individual from Chinaj in the number of vomerine teeth and in coloration.

From Project Gutenberg

In the toads from El Petn the greatest variation is in coloration.

From Project Gutenberg

At this size distinctive sword-tail and bright coloration have developed.

From Project Gutenberg

The variation in coloration has been a source of confusion in this species in northern Central America (see Stuart, 1941:86).

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• complexion
• glow
• hue
• tinge