ultramarine

American  

[uhl-truh-muh-reen] / ˌʌl trə məˈrin /

adjective

1. of the color ultramarine.

2. beyond the sea.

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noun

1. a blue pigment consisting of powdered lapis lazuli.

2. a similar artificial blue pigment.

3. any of various other pigments.

4. a deep-blue color.

ultramarine British  

/ ˌʌltrəməˈriːn /

noun

1. a blue pigment consisting of sodium and aluminium silicates and some sodium sulphide, obtained by powdering natural lapis lazuli or made synthetically: used in paints, printing ink, plastics, etc

2. a vivid blue colour

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adjective

1. of the colour ultramarine

2. from across the seas

Etymology

Origin of ultramarine

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin ultrāmarīnus, equivalent to Latin ultrā ultra- + marīnus marine

Example Sentences

I imagined a vitrine of the pigments used to achieve those “Gainsborough blues”—indigo, Prussian blue, ultramarine, azurite.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

The colors are a reddish black, a Renaissance ultramarine blue and a blackish burgundy that Zumthor hoped would conjure a cave-like dimness.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2025

Standen tells BBC Newsbeat his early recording sessions involved negotiating with Games Workshop representatives to inject depth and emotion into his traditionally stoic ultramarine character.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2025

Whether ultramarine, cerulean, Egyptian or cobalt, blue pigments have colored artworks for centuries.

From Science Daily • Feb. 22, 2024

He asks Theo to send him some tubes of paint before he leaves Paris: three of zinc white, four of Veronese green, and a tube each of cobalt, ultramarine, emerald green, and orange lead.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• blue-green