colorize

especially British, col·or·ise

[kuhl-uh-rahyz]

verb (used with object)

colorized, colorizing 

1. to cause to appear in color; enhance with color, especially by computer.

   to colorize old black-and-white movies for television.

Other Word Forms

• colorization noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of colorize¹

First recorded in 1955–60; color + -ize

Example Sentences

But then I found a colorized obscure album cover of Bob in the shirt, and it was green polka dot, which even made it, I think, less attractive to Jim.

From Los Angeles Times

If you’re colorizing your stucco, add some pigment to your cement paint, too.

From Seattle Times

In “Memory Song,” for instance, Wolfe hauntingly colorized with silvery percussive accompaniment, marvelously melodic clarinet and cello lines and interruptions of chirping bird song, Monk’s singing of forgetting and football.

From Los Angeles Times

Flawlessly executed, the pictures employ both natural light — including the yellow pinpricks of fireflies — and colorized elemental forms to conjure a beguilingly multilayered universe.

From Washington Post

The pollen grains of various common plants like sunflower, morning glories, prairie hollyhock, oriental lily, evening primrose and castor bean — magnified 500 times and colorized in this image — display intricate patterns.

From Salon