colorful

[ kuhl-er-fuhl ]

/ ˈkʌl ər fəl /

abounding in color: In their tartans, the Scots guard made a colorful array.

richly eventful or picturesque: a colorful historical period.

presenting or suggesting vivid or striking scenes: a colorful narrative.

Nearby words

First recorded in 1885–90; color + -ful

SYNONYMS FOR colorful

Related formscol·or·ful·ly, adverbcol·or·ful·ness, nounun·col·or·ful, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

This collection features 100 fun, colorful, and sometimes delightfully irreverent messages designed by Friends with Type.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Taylor Swift in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sure, there are some colorful English aristocrats still around, but is the age of the delightfully nutty toff at an end?
The Death of the English Eccentric|Tom Sykes|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Masters employed a colorful cast of characters off the air as well.
The Godfather of Right-Wing Radio|Caitlin Dickson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Men cross the river at shallow points with herds of animals while women tend the fields in colorful dresses.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I was looking for characters, originals, people who could articulate what they were doing in colorful ways.
The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark|Alex Belth|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was all a far cry from the towering cliffs and colorful cañons of Colorado.
A Daughter of the Middle Border|Hamlin Garland
He also intended getting plenty of underwater movies of the colorful reefs and fish.
The Wailing Octopus|Harold Leland Goodwin
Colorful surroundings are more necessary to the Thoracic than to other types.
How to Analyze People on Sight|Elsie Lincoln Benedict and Ralph Paine Benedict
His colorful costume had given way to European clothes, except for a tarboosh.
The Egyptian Cat Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin
The sun had ripped away the mists that, in the mountains, always hang damp and veillike between gray dawning and colorful day.
The Law of Hemlock Mountain|Hugh Lundsford