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colourable

British

/ ˈkʌlərəbəl /

adjective

capable of being coloured
appearing to be true; plausible

a colourable excuse
pretended; feigned

colourable affection

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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colourable

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

Captain Sarsfield, Colonel Peard, known as "Garibaldi's Englishman," De Rohan, Captain Scott, and others on the spot, with colourable pretensions to authority, took different views of the situation.

From Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2) by George Jacob Holyoake

Any colourable pretence for a skirmish won't suit your palette.

From Punch, Or The London Charivari, Volume 102, March 26, 1892 by Various

It could not find any colourable pretext for refusing the few hundred thousands required by the teachers, and it capitulated in panic.

From The Problem of China by Bertrand Russell

"Not colourable, anyhow," said Acton, with a wink at Jack.

From Acton's Feud A Public School Story by Frederick Swainson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023