Showing results for "colored"

• past tense form of color.
• past participle of color.

colored

American  

[kuhl-erd] / ˈkʌl ərd /

adjective

1. having color.

2. Older Use: Offensive. belonging wholly or in part to any group of nonwhite people, especially to Black people.

3. Older Use: Offensive. pertaining to Black people.

4. influenced or biased.

   colored opinions.

5. specious; deceptive.

   The authorities detected a colored quality in her statement.

6. Botany. of some hue other than green.

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noun

1. Older Use: Offensive.

   1. a Black person.

   2. the colored, Black people as a group.

2. Cape Colored.

Sensitive Note

See Black ¹.

Usage

Spelling tips for colored The word colored is hard to spell for three reasons. First, it can be tempting to use a double l or double r. Second, in British English, the word is spelled with a u (colored), unlike in American English. Finally, the ending -ed is pronounced simply [ d ], so one may forget the e. How to spell colored: When it comes to color, keep it simple. You don't need any extra letters, like a double l, double r, or u. For adjectives like colored that end with the sound [ d ], remember that you will always need a little Extra (e) to get it Done, -ed.

Other Word Forms

• uncoloredness
  noun
• half-colored
  adjective
• uncolored
  adjective
• undercolored
  adjective
• well-colored
  adjective
• uncoloredly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of colored

A Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at color, -ed ³

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colored

Artificial food dyes, too, are hard to do without, because consumers reliably prefer brightly colored foods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

During his decades-long career, Max created brightly colored graphic images and was credited with capturing the essence of the 1960s "summer of love" and psychedelia.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Values of colored gemstones have risen since the pandemic, following constraints in mining.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

If it did, the attempt to recreate the first film’s magic would’ve come with plenty of film stock and some colored gels to make sure every shot isn’t washed out in jaundiced yellow.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

But he showed us the bits of colored paper.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff