color blindness
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noun
inability to distinguish one or several chromatic colors, independent of the capacity for distinguishing light and shade.
complete inability to distinguish colors of the spectrum, with all objects appearing as shades of gray, black, and white, varying only as to lightness and darkness; achromatopsia.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Origin of color blindness
First recorded in 1835–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Medical definitions for color blindness
color blindness
n.
Deficiency of color perception, whether hereditary or acquired, partial or complete.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cultural definitions for color blindness
colorblindness
A defect in perception of colors, caused by a deficiency of certain specialized cells in the retina that are sensitive to different colors. The condition may be partial (as in “red-green colorblindness,” in which a person cannot distinguish red from green), or complete (in which the person sees all colors as gray).
notes for colorblindness
By extension, the law is said to be colorblind in its judgments, which are supposed to ignore a defendant's race.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.