colourable
Britishadjective
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capable of being coloured
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appearing to be true; plausible
a colourable excuse
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pretended; feigned
colourable affection
Other Word Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He added Slater "genuinely held on at least colourable grounds" the belief that an issue with the Act was "unlikely actually to pose a problem for the scheme".
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
He showed this in the mistake concerning Sir Robert Collier’s hardly more than colourable qualification to be made a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
From The Real Gladstone an Anecdotal Biography by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
Tourists are also catered for in a native block-stamped variety, which is at least a colourable imitation of the real article.
From Across the Equator A Holiday Trip in Java by Thomas H. Reid
Not a blow was struck which gave a colourable ground for outrage on the part of the police.
From Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2) by George Jacob Holyoake
I felt less sure of the distinction between that as a colourable scheme, and the Land League, as now working, as one altogether revolutionary and evil.
From Letters of Lord Acton To Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron Acton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
