colorful

[kuhl-er-fuhl]

adjective

1. abounding in color.

   In their tartans, the Scots guard made a colorful array.

2. richly eventful or picturesque.

   a colorful historical period.

3. presenting or suggesting vivid or striking scenes.

   a colorful narrative.

   Synonyms: dynamic, spirited, vigorous

Other Word Forms

• colorfully adverb
• colorfulness noun
• uncolorful adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of colorful¹

First recorded in 1885–90; color + -ful

Example Sentences

The three-year-old NBA Cup, inspired by similar in-season tournaments in European leagues, has sparked confusion about the colorful courts and ever-changing group stage scenarios.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In our bizarro world, the “Zootopia” franchise serves as a vehicle for thought-provoking subjects disseminated by way of colorful anthropomorphic animals.

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In an autobiographical summary of his career, Meyer said his favorite toy design was Lite-Brite, which allows people to create colorful designs by plugging plastic pegs into a grid.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Let’s pause here to clarify: The colorful parts of a poinsettia aren’t really flowers; those are the tiny yellow and red orbs in the center of the plant.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Autumn lingers on the colorful character selection screen.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• bright 
• flashy 
• gaudy 
• hued 
• multicolored 
• rich 
• splashy 
• vibrant 
• vivid 

When To Use

What does colorful mean?

Colorful literally means full of color, especially a lot of different bright colors.It can also be used in a figurative way to mean rich with interesting or vividly depicted elements, such as characters or events.For example, a colorful story is one with a lot of interesting parts, locations, and especially colorful characters—people with unique (or eccentric) personalities and ways of life.A place like a restaurant or nightclub might be said to have a colorful history, meaning a lot of very interesting or unusual things have happened there.The phrase colorful language is a euphemism—it’s a polite way of referring to language that contains a lot of curse words, obscenities, or other potentially offensive terms. Colorful is sometimes used in this way in other situations as a euphemistic or humorous way of implying that something is a bit seedy, shady, or outside the mainstream, as in That place is known to have a colorful clientele, if you know what I mean—a lot of shady deals go down there. Example: The history of the museum is as colorful as the paintings that hang on its walls—it has seen some truly bizarre happenings over the years.