yellow

[ yel-oh ]

/ ˈyɛl oʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR yellow ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nm.

the yolk of an egg.

a yellow pigment or dye.

Informal. yellow light.

Slang. yellow jacket(def 2).

adjective, yel·low·er, yel·low·est.

of the color yellow.

Disparaging and Offensive.

designating or pertaining to an Asian person or Asian peoples.
designating or pertaining to a person of mixed racial origin, especially of black and white heritage.

having a sallow or yellowish complexion.

Informal. cowardly.

(of a newspaper, book, etc.) featuring articles, pictures, or other content that is sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so: yellow rags; yellow biographies.
dishonest in editorial comment and the presentation of news, especially in sacrificing truth for sensationalism, as in yellow journalism; yellow press.

jealous; envious.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become yellow: Yellow the sheets with dye. The white stationery had yellowed with age.

RELATED WORDS

sensationalism

Nearby words

Origin of yellow

before 900; 1895–1900 for def 9; Middle English yelou (adj. and noun), Old English geolo, geolu (adj.); cognate with Dutch geel, German gelb, Latin helvus pale-yellow; akin to Old Norse gulr

SYNONYMS FOR yellow

9 craven, timorous, fearful.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR yellow ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsyel·low·ly, adverbyel·low·ness, noun

Usage note

It is perceived as insulting to use yellow to describe a person of Asian or mixed racial origin, as in the terms yellow peril and high yellow.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for yellow journalism (1 of 2)

yellow journalism

noun

the type of journalism that relies on sensationalism and lurid exaggeration to attract readers

Word Origin for yellow journalism

C19: perhaps shortened from the phrase Yellow Kid journalism, referring to the Yellow Kid, a cartoon (1895) in the New York World, a newspaper having a reputation for sensationalism

British Dictionary definitions for yellow journalism (2 of 2)

yellow

/ (ˈjɛləʊ) /

noun

any of a group of colours that vary in saturation but have the same hue. They lie in the approximate wavelength range 585–575 nanometres. Yellow is the complementary colour of blue and with cyan and magenta forms a set of primary coloursRelated adjective: xanthous

a pigment or dye of or producing these colours

yellow cloth or clothingdressed in yellow

the yolk of an egg

a yellow ball in snooker, etc

any of a group of pieridine butterflies the males of which have yellow or yellowish wings, esp the clouded yellows (Colias spp.) and the brimstone

adjective

of the colour yellow

yellowish in colour or having parts or marks that are yellowishyellow jasmine

having a yellowish skin; Mongoloid

informal cowardly or afraid

offensively sensational, as a cheap newspaper (esp in the phrase yellow press)

verb

to make or become yellow

Word Origin for yellow

Old English geolu; related to Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Old Norse gulr, Latin helvus

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

Word Origin and History for yellow journalism (1 of 3)

yellow journalism

"sensational chauvinism in the media," 1898, American English, from newspaper agitation for war with Spain; originally "publicity stunt use of colored ink" (1895) in reference to the popular Yellow Kid" character (his clothes were yellow) in Richard Outcault's comic strip "Shantytown" in the "New York World."

Word Origin and History for yellow journalism (1 of 3)

yellow

"to become yellow," Old English geoluwian, from the source of yellow (adj.). Related: Yellowed; yellowing.

Word Origin and History for yellow journalism (2 of 3)

yellow

adj.

Old English geolu, geolwe, from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Middle Dutch ghele, Dutch geel, Middle High German gel, German gelb, Old Norse gulr, Swedish gul "yellow"), from PIE *ghel- "yellow, green" (see Chloe).

Meaning "light-skinned" (of blacks) first recorded 1808. Applied to Asiatics since 1787, though the first recorded reference is to Turkish words for inhabitants of India. Yellow peril translates German die gelbe gefahr. Sense of "cowardly" is 1856, of unknown origin; the color was traditionally associated rather with treachery. Yellow-bellied "cowardly" is from 1924, probably a rhyming reduplication of yellow; earlier yellow-belly was a sailor's name for a half-caste (1867) and a Texas term for Mexican soldiers (1842, based on the color of their uniforms). Yellow dog "mongrel" is attested from c.1770; slang sense of "contemptible person" first recorded 1881. Yellow fever attested from 1748, American English (jaundice is a symptom).

Culture definitions for yellow journalism

yellow journalism

Inflammatory, irresponsible reporting by newspapers. The phrase arose during the 1890s, when some American newspapers, particularly those run by William Randolph Hearst, worked to incite hatred of Spain, thereby contributing to the start of the Spanish-American War. Newspapers that practice yellow journalism are called yellow press.

yellow

noun

adjective, yel·low·er, yel·low·est.

verb (used with or without object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of yellow

Usage note

British Dictionary definitions for yellow journalism (1 of 2)

yellow journalism

noun

Word Origin for yellow journalism

British Dictionary definitions for yellow journalism (2 of 2)

yellow

noun

adjective

verb

Word Origin for yellow

Word Origin and History for yellow journalism (1 of 3)

yellow journalism

Word Origin and History for yellow journalism (1 of 3)

yellow

Word Origin and History for yellow journalism (2 of 3)

yellow

Culture definitions for yellow journalism

yellow journalism