hue

[ hyoo or, often, yoo ]

noun

a gradation or variety of a color; tint: pale hues.
the property of light by which the color of an object is classified as red, blue, green, or yellow in reference to the spectrum.

color: all the hues of the rainbow.
form or appearance.
complexion.

Origin of hue

First recorded before 900; Middle English hewe, Old English hīw “form, appearance, color”; cognate with Old Norse hȳ “bird's down,” Swedish hy “skin, complexion,” Gothic hiwi “form, appearance”; akin to Old English hār “gray” (see hoar)

Other words from hue

hueless, adjective

Words that may be confused with hue

hew, hue

Other definitions for hue (2 of 3)

hue²

[ hyoo ]

noun

outcry, as of pursuers; clamor.

Origin of hue

1200–50; Middle English hu(e) <Middle French: a hoot, outcry (whence huer to hoot, cry out)

Other definitions for Hué (3 of 3)

Hué

[ hwey ]

noun

a seaport in central Vietnam: former capital of Annam.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hue in a sentence

Her pin-up curls may have been envy-worthy, but it was the bleach blond, almost snow white, hue of her hair that become iconic.
Tangled Up in Blue: Young Stars and Their Blue Rinses | Erin Cunningham | July 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This was a madcap game, the ball hurtling from end to end, chased by tired legs of every hue.
Stars and Stripes 2, Black Stars 1: Team USA Takes a Win From Ghana | Tunku Varadarajan | June 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I have found a pale greenish hue to be very soothing personally.
Change Your Sense: Biohacking for Beginners | Ari Meisel | March 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The dress is a classic, with its soft, lavender hue, chiffon fabric, and minimalist shape.
Barbara Tfank: The Red Carpet Radical | Erin Cunningham | March 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Does Blackness, as a social color, change the hue of all the other colors it touches?
Abstraction Colored by Race | Blake Gopnik | January 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Her face was mild and pale; but it was the transparent hue of the virgin flower of spring, clad in her veiling leaves.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
The wind-blown rain-makers lost their leaden hue and became a soft pearl-gray, all fleecy white around the edges.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
The question is, do these words of hue de Rotelande throw any light upon this disputed point?
The Three Days' Tournament | Jessie L. Weston
She watched the colour fade from his cheeks, and the ugly, livid hue that spread in its room to his very lips.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
Their colour is generally of a cinereous hue, but a few were noticed that were variegated black and white.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2] | Phillip Parker King

British Dictionary definitions for hue (1 of 2)

hue

/ (hjuː) /

noun

the attribute of colour that enables an observer to classify it as red, green, blue, purple, etc, and excludes white, black, and shades of grey: See also colour
a shade of a colour

aspect; complexion: a different hue on matters

Origin of hue

Old English hīw beauty; related to Old Norse hӯ fine hair, Gothic hiwi form

British Dictionary definitions for Hué (2 of 2)

Hué

/ (French ɥe) /

noun

a port in central Vietnam, on the delta of the Hué River near the South China Sea: former capital of the kingdom of Annam, of French Indochina (1883–1946), and of Central Vietnam (1946–54). Pop: 377 000 (2005 est)

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

Scientific definitions for hue

hue

[ hyōō ]

The property of colors by which they are seen as ranging from red through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, as determined by the dominant wavelength of the light. Compare saturation value.

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