off colour

British

adjective

slightly ill; unwell
indecent or indelicate; risqué

"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

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 that although Cinnamon's family were not distressed, they have been "off colour".

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2024

This could have been a hazardous night for Guardiola and City after they looked off colour and subdued when being held 0-0 by Arsenal, barely posing a threat to Mikel Arteta's side.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2024

Ostapenko had played well to take the first set but was off colour in the second and two breaks of serve down in the third set when she asked for the timeout.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2021

Wooley defended his comments to Newstalk ZB in New Zealand, saying he did not find his line of questioning or commentary off colour.

From The Guardian • Feb. 25, 2018

For the next three days Denbigh and O'Hara were "off colour".

From Rounding up the Raider A Naval Story of the Great War by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

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