Showing results for "colored"

• past participle of color.
• past tense form of color.

colored

American  

[kuhl-erd] / ˈkʌl ərd /

adjective

1. having color.

2. Older Use: Offensive. belonging wholly or in part to any group of nonwhite people, especially to Black people.

3. Older Use: Offensive. pertaining to Black people.

4. influenced or biased.

   colored opinions.

5. specious; deceptive.

   The authorities detected a colored quality in her statement.

6. Botany. of some hue other than green.

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noun

1. Older Use: Offensive.

   1. a Black person.

   2. the colored, Black people as a group.

2. Cape Colored.

Sensitive Note

See Black ¹.

Usage

Spelling tips for colored The word colored is hard to spell for three reasons. First, it can be tempting to use a double l or double r. Second, in British English, the word is spelled with a u (colored), unlike in American English. Finally, the ending -ed is pronounced simply [ d ], so one may forget the e. How to spell colored: When it comes to color, keep it simple. You don't need any extra letters, like a double l, double r, or u. For adjectives like colored that end with the sound [ d ], remember that you will always need a little Extra (e) to get it Done, -ed.

Other Word Forms

• uncoloredness
  noun
• half-colored
  adjective
• uncolored
  adjective
• undercolored
  adjective
• well-colored
  adjective
• uncoloredly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of colored

A Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at color, -ed ³

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colored

Blazo’s research shows that when sibling dynamics are colored by hostility and toxic comparisons, younger siblings experience “differentiation.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

It would be easy to look at all of this — the card tables, homemade jingles, wagons stacked with brightly colored boxes — and see only an exceptionally cute American ritual.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

But Purcell isn’t the only systems failure that has colored Supreme Court elections cases of late.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

One evening, Emily Kagan, a poet and healthcare executive who was one of the facilitators, passed around markers and colored sheets of origami paper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

As he spoke, the distant colored lights began glowing in turn.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman