Jump To:

• hue
  hue

  noun

  a gradation or variety of a color; tint.
• Hué
  Hué

  noun

  a seaport in central Vietnam: former capital of Annam.

hue

¹ American  

[hyoo, yoo] / hju, ju /

noun

1. a gradation or variety of a color; tint.

   pale hues.

2. the property of light by which the color of an object is classified as red, blue, green, or yellow in reference to the spectrum.

3. color.

   all the hues of the rainbow.

4. form or appearance.

5. complexion.

---

hue ² American  

[hyoo] / hju /

noun

1. outcry, as of pursuers; clamor.

---

Hué ³ American  

[hwey] / ʰweɪ /

noun

1. a seaport in central Vietnam: former capital of Annam.

---

Hué ¹ British  

/ ɥe /

noun

1. 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)

---

hue ² British  

/ hjuː /

noun

1. 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

2. a shade of a colour

3. aspect; complexion

   a different hue on matters

---

hue Scientific  

/ hyo̅o̅ /

1. 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.

2. Compare saturation value

---

Other Word Forms

• hueless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hue¹

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

Origin of hue²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English hu(e), from Middle French: “a hoot, outcry” (whence huer “to hoot, cry out”)

Explanation

Green, orange, yellow, and blue — each of these is a hue, a color or a shade that's true. A rainbow shows the melting of one hue into another, from red to violet, and all shades in between. The noun hue means both a color and a shade of a color. Green is a hue, and turquoise is a hue of both green and blue. Most of the time the word hue refers to colors, but sometimes it's used for shades of meaning or even the tone of a person's face, as in "The speech had a hue of politics — disguised with humor — that turned the mayor's face from a pale hue to red as he laughed."

Example Sentences

Dao Thi Hue, also at the showroom, was looking to go electric too.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Ahead of is arrival, residences in the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang were ordered to evacuate.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2025

Will Aronson and Hue Park’s “Maybe Happy Ending” was the evening’s big winner, picking up six Tonys, including best musical.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2025

The most recent high-profile resignation linked to the campaign was that of Vietnam’s Parliament head, Vuong Dinh Hue, in April.

From Seattle Times • May 18, 2024

Overloaded trucks and buses stall in a traffic jam as thousands of civilians and military personnel flee from Hue to Da Nang as North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces advance, 1975.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

• complexion
• tinge
• tint
• tone