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
Lend colourable certainty to this by hiring a low-comedy Donnybrook Fair suit from Nathan's, and wearing it on all public occasions.
From Punch, or the London Charivari. Volume 93, September 10, 1887 by Various
And they drew a colourable sanction to their democracy from the great names of Calvin, Zuinglius, and John Knox.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXVI. October, 1843. Vol. LIV. by Various
"Not colourable, anyhow," said Acton, with a wink at Jack.
From Acton's Feud A Public School Story by Frederick Swainson
They were not particularly comfortable nor quite so well-savoured as I could have wished; but it was no time for ultra-squeamishness, and I was soon transformed into a very colourable imitation of a fo’c’s’le hand.
From The Pirate Slaver A Story of the West African Coast by William Heysham Overend
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.
