adj · noun · verb · 17 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkʌləd/
Canada, General-American:ʹkŭlərd
Canada, General-American:/ˈkʌləɹd/
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian, New-Zealand:/ˈkɐləd/
rhymes with -ʌləɹd
CMU ARPABET:K AH1 L ER0 D
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Having a color.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
Examples
Wash colored items separately from whites and darks to prevent the colors from bleeding.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Having a particular color or kind of color.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, in-compounds
Examples
The room was red, with a dark-colored rug.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Having prominent colors; colorful.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
Examples
The singer wore a colored shirt.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Biased; pervasively (but potentially subtly) influenced in a particular way.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
adj
Meaning 5
Of skin color other than white; in particular, black.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, dated, offensive, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
adj
Meaning 6
Belonging to a multiracial ethnic group or category, having ancestry from more than one of the racial groups of Southern Africa (black, white, and Asian). (Under apartheid, used as a metadescription for mixed-race people and peoples such as the Cape Coloureds.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Botswana, Namibia, South-Africa, US, Zimbabwe, capitalized, sometimes
Examples
Most of the colored community speaks Afrikaans, whereas languages like Xhosa or Venda are typically spoken by blacks and English is spoken mostly by whites.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Eurafrican
Antonyms: none provided
7
adj
Meaning 7
Designated for use by colored people (in either the US or South African sense).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, historical
Examples
a colored drinking fountain
a colored hospital
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
adj
Meaning 8
Alternative letter-case form of colored (“non-white, or mixed race”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
A colored article of clothing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
Qualifier: laundry
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
A person having ancestry from more than one of the racial groups of Southern Africa (black, white, and Asian); a colored person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: South-Africa, US
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Eurafrican
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
A colored (nonwhite) person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, dated, offensive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
verb
Meaning 12
simple past and past participle of color
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, form-of, participle, past
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
adjective
Meaning 13
having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
colored crepe paper
the film was in color
amber-colored heads of grain
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: coloured, colorful
Antonyms: uncolored
14
adjective satellite
Meaning 14
having skin rich in melanin pigments
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
dark-skinned peoples
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: coloured, dark, dark-skinned, non-white
Antonyms: none provided
15
adjective satellite
Meaning 15
(used of color) artificially produced; not natural
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a bleached blonde
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bleached, coloured, dyed
Antonyms: none provided
16
adjective satellite
Meaning 16
favoring one person or side over another
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a biased account of the trial
a decision that was partial to the defendant
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: biased, coloured, one-sided, slanted
Antonyms: none provided
17
noun
Meaning 17
a United States term for Blacks that is now considered offensive
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: colored person
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: Black, Black person, blackamoor, Negro, Negroid
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Indo-European *ḱélōs Proto-Italic *kelōs Old Latin colōs Latin color Old French color Anglo-Norman colurbor. Middle English colour English color English -ed English colored From color + -ed.
Across languages
Translations
116 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
مُلَوَّن
(mulawwan)
— having a color
Bulgarian:
цветен
(cveten)
— having a color
Esperanto:
kolora
— having a color
Finnish:
värillinen
— having a color
Galician:
tinto
— having a color
Greek:
έγχρωμος
(énchromos)
— having a color
Greek:
χρωματισμένος
(chromatisménos)
— having a color
Greek:
χρωματιστός
(chromatistós)
— having a color
Hebrew:
צָבוּעַ
(tzavúa')
— having a color
Hungarian:
színes
— having a color
Ingrian:
karvalliin
— having a color
Latin:
colōrātus
— having a color
Māori:
whaikano
— having a color
Marathi:
रंगीत
(raṅgīt)
— having a color
Polish:
kolorowy
— having a color
Polish:
barwny
— having a color
Portuguese:
colorido
— having a color
Romanian:
colorat
— having a color
Romanian:
colorată
— having a color
Russian:
цветно́й
(cvetnój)
— having a color
Swedish:
färgad
— having a color
Ukrainian:
кольоро́вий
(kolʹoróvyj)
— having a color
Unami:
likte
— having a color
Unami:
liksi
— having a color
Bulgarian:
оцветен
(ocveten)
— having a particular kind of color
Chinese Mandarin:
有色
(yǒusè)
— having a particular kind of color
Danish:
farvet
— having a particular kind of color
Finnish:
sävyinen
— having a particular kind of color
Finnish:
värinen
— having a particular kind of color
French:
coloré
— having a particular kind of color
French:
de couleur
— having a particular kind of color
Georgian:
ფერადი
(peradi)
— having a particular kind of color
German:
farbig
— having a particular kind of color
Hungarian:
színű
— having a particular kind of color
Ingrian:
karvalliin
— having a particular kind of color
Japanese:
有色
(yūshoku)
— having a particular kind of color
Korean:
유색
(yusaek)
— having a particular kind of color
Persian:
رنگین
(rangin)
— having a particular kind of color
Polish:
kolorowy
— having a particular kind of color
Polish:
barwny
— having a particular kind of color
Portuguese:
colorido/pintado de
— having a particular kind of color
Romanian:
colorat
— having a particular kind of color
Russian:
цветно́й
(cvetnój)
— having a particular kind of color
Swedish:
färgad
— having a particular kind of color
Ukrainian:
кольоро́вий
(kolʹoróvyj)
— having a particular kind of color
