Meaning & use
amethyst
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A clear purple or violet form of quartz, cut and polished as a gemstone.
Grammar: Countable for a single stone, uncountable for the material: a ring set with amethyst.
Patterns
- a ring of amethyst
- an amethyst necklace
She wore an amethyst on a thin silver chain.
The cave walls glittered with raw amethyst.
He gave her an amethyst ring for her birthday.
noununcountable
A pale to deep purple color like that of the gemstone.
Grammar: Also works as an adjective before a noun: an amethyst sky.
Patterns
- a shade of amethyst
The sky faded into amethyst at dusk.
She painted the walls a soft amethyst.
The curtains were dyed a deep amethyst.
Word forms
| plural | amethysts |
|---|
Common combinations
- amethyst ring
- She polished her grandmother's amethyst ring.
- amethyst crystal
- A large amethyst crystal sat on the shelf.
- deep amethyst
- The wine was a deep amethyst in the glass.
- amethyst geode
- The museum displayed an amethyst geode as tall as a child.
- amethyst jewelry
- The shop sells amethyst jewelry in many styles.
Synonyms and how they differ
- violet
- Violet is the general name for the color between blue and purple, while amethyst names both the stone and its specific shade.
- purple
- Purple is the broad color word, whereas amethyst suggests the clear, jewel-like shade of the stone.
- lavender
- Lavender is a pale, pinkish-purple, while amethyst can be a deeper, richer purple.
Word family
- amethystine adjective
- of the color or nature of amethyst
- quartz noun
- the mineral of which amethyst is a type
Commonly confused: amethyst or amber? amethyst or emerald?
amethyst vs amber
Amber is a golden-orange fossilized resin used in jewelry, not a purple stone.
amethyst vs emerald
Emerald is a green gemstone, while amethyst is purple.
Practice
What color is an amethyst most often?
Choose one answer.
Amethyst is the purple form of quartz. Green would be an emerald and orange could be amber.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “amethyst”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.