Meaning & use
true colour
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Meanings
noununcountablecomputingtechnical
A way of storing or showing images in which each pixel can have millions of different colors.
Grammar: Used like a mass noun, so you say 'in true colour' rather than 'in a true colour'.
Patterns
- in true colour
- display something in true colour
- true colour image
This monitor shows photos in true colour, so skin tones look natural.
The old camera could not record true colour, and everything came out slightly green.
Open the file in true colour mode before you print it.
noununcountable
Colors that look exactly as they do in real life, not changed by a screen, filter, or light.
Grammar: Often follows 'in' to describe how something is shown or seen.
Patterns
- in true colour
- see something in true colour
- show something in true colour
The painting is best seen in true colour under daylight.
The app promises to show the fabric in true colour so you know what you are buying.
Under these yellow lamps, nothing appears in true colour.
Common combinations
- true colour display
- The new phone has a true colour display that reviewers praised.
- in true colour
- The documentary was shot in true colour rather than black and white.
- true colour image
- Send us a true colour image, not a scanned copy.
- true colour mode
- Switch the printer to true colour mode for the final version.
Synonyms and how they differ
- full colour
- Full colour means many colors are used, but it does not always promise that each color is accurate, which is what true colour stresses.
- natural colour
- Natural colour suggests colors that look normal and not artificial, but it is used more in everyday speech than in technical settings.
Opposites
Word family
- true-color adjective
- The American spelling, used before a noun, as in 'a true-color screen'.
Commonly confused: true colour or full colour?
true colour vs full colour
Full colour simply means printing or showing in many colors, while true colour emphasizes that the colors match reality very closely.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'true colour' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'True colour' is uncountable and usually appears in the phrase 'in true colour', so option 2 fits. Options 1 and 4 treat it as a countable noun, and option 3 uses it wrongly as a modifier before a color name.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “true colour”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.