old-fashioned an individual who is not a White person, esp a Black person
a person of mixed ethnic parentage or descent
a person of mixed ethnic descent speaking English or Afrikaans as their mother tongue
possessing colour
having a strong element of fiction or fantasy; distorted (esp in the phrase highly coloured )
The use of Coloured to refer to a person of mixed ethnic origin is likely to cause offence and should be avoided
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
State legislatures literally criminalized the possession of things like David Walker's "Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World."
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2025
Coloured candies - like Pez - include the additive as an ingredient.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2025
In Cape Town, improvisers picked up on the carnival music of the townships’ Coloured population, a mix of Malaysian, Indian, Dutch, Khoisan and Black African heritages.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
The Melbourne study is recruiting through a nonprofit partner organization called Many Coloured Sky that supports LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 24, 2024
He must have realized that I thought he was white, because the first thing he whispered was, “I’m a Coloured warder from Bloemfontein.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The service's map of Germany was nearly completely coloured the dark purple that signifies "extreme heat warning".
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
His daughter, Felicia Helen Parazaider, also posted on Facebook that “I love you poppy, my Pal...You coloured our world.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Instead, the black shiny faceless Phantom robot is engaged in "free play", manipulating a bunch of coloured kids blocks.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
The brightly coloured cubicles have floor-to-ceiling doors, and some have sinks inside.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Above his head, the coloured beam of light fell upon a small and primitive piece of tapestry—a picture of some knights in chain mail, with nose guards on their painted helmets, chasing a boar.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
