colors

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   The different shades, such as red, blue or green, that things have as seen by the eye.

   Grammar: Plural of color: bright colors, not a color's.

   Patterns

   • colors of something

   The painting uses warm colors like orange and gold.

   Children learn the colors in kindergarten.

   The leaves turn beautiful colors in autumn.

2. 2verbtransitive

   Gives something a particular shade, or affects the way someone thinks or feels about something.

   Grammar: Third person singular of color; takes an object.

   Patterns

   • color something

   Experience colors how she sees the world.

   He colors the drawings with pencils.

   Past hurts color his judgment.

3. 3nounplural

   The official flag or emblem colors of a team, school or country.

   Grammar: Used in the plural form with a plural verb.

   Patterns

   • wear someone's colors

   The fans wore the team's colors to the game.

   The ship sailed under British colors.

   The school colors are green and gold.

Common combinations

bright colors

The room was full of bright colors.

primary colors

Red, yellow and blue are primary colors.

warm colors

Warm colors make a room feel cozy.

mix colors

She likes to mix colors on a palette.

fade colors

The sun can fade colors on fabrics.

Synonyms and how they differ

shades

Shades are variations of one color, while colors are different hues.

hues

Hue is a more technical word for the pure color quality.

tints

Tints are colors lightened with white, and the word is used in art and design.

Opposites

Word family

color noun/verb

One shade, or to give a shade to something.

colorful adjective

Having many bright colors.

colorless adjective

Without color.

discolor verb

To change or spoil the color.

Commonly confused: colors or colours?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “colors”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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