Coloured
noun
an individual who is not a White person, esp a Black person
Showing results for Coloured.
Search instead for
uncoloured.
Coloured
1 British
/ ˈkʌləd /
noun
-
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
-
adjective
coloured
2
British
/ ˈkʌləd /
adjective
-
possessing colour
-
having a strong element of fiction or fantasy; distorted (esp in the phrase highly coloured )
Usage
The use of Coloured to refer to a person of mixed ethnic origin is likely to cause offence and should be avoided
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.
See Examples For:
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
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
"Coloured stones performed extremely well, as did signed jewellery... There's a great market out there for rare things, and there are still collectors looking for the very best."
From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2023
She shared a house with Dr Harold Moody, the founder of civil-rights organisation The League of Coloured Peoples.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2022
Often, the ANC, the South African Indian Congress, and the Coloured People’s Congress would make a collective statement on an issue affecting only Africans.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
For parents who have some but not total visual impairment, Kim says children can be dressed in brightly coloured clothing while out and about so they are easier to spot.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
At the entrance of a little hole in the muddy river bank she points to a patch of dark brown in the lighter coloured mud.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The photo shows a vacationing couple seated in striped deck chairs beneath a brightly coloured parasol on a beach.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The service's map of Germany was nearly completely coloured the dark purple that signifies "extreme heat warning".
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Faded loops of coloured paper hung in the windows, and on the shelves were shabby little boxes of Sherbet, old Liquorice Sticks, and very withered, very hard Apples-on-a-stick.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
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.
