Meaning & use
vermilion
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Meanings
noununcountable
A brilliant orange-red color, or the pigment that produces it.
Grammar: Mass noun for the color or paint: painted in vermilion.
Patterns
- painted in vermilion
- a shade of vermilion
The temple gates were painted in glowing vermilion.
She mixed a little vermilion into the paint for the sunset.
Vermilion was prized by medieval manuscript painters.
adjectivecomparable
Of a vivid orange-red color.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a vermilion door.
Patterns
- vermilion robes
The vermilion sun sank behind the hills.
He wore a vermilion scarf that stood out in the snow.
The lacquered bowl was a deep vermilion.
noununcountabletechnical
A bright red pigment made from the mineral cinnabar, or from artificial mercury sulfide.
Grammar: Technical sense, mostly in art history and chemistry.
Patterns
- ground vermilion
Artists once ground cinnabar into vermilion.
Vermilion contains mercury and is toxic.
Chinese lacquerware used vermilion for centuries.
Common combinations
- vermilion red
- The shrine was decorated in vermilion red.
- vermilion sky
- A vermilion sky promised a hot day.
- vermilion pigment
- The museum analyzed the vermilion pigment in the scroll.
- bright vermilion
- She chose a bright vermilion for the front door.
- vermilion lacquer
- The cabinet was finished in vermilion lacquer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scarlet
- Scarlet is a pure bright red, while vermilion leans slightly more toward orange.
- cinnabar
- Cinnabar is the mineral itself, and as a color it is a little duller than vermilion.
- crimson
- Crimson is deeper and cooler, with a purplish tint, unlike orange-leaning vermilion.
- red-orange
- Red-orange is a plain description of the color, while vermilion names a specific classic shade.
Word family
- vermillion noun
- a less common spelling of the same word
- vermeil noun
- gilded silver, or an old word for bright red
- vermilioned adjective
- colored with vermilion, rare
Commonly confused: vermilion or Vermont? vermilion or vermillion?
vermilion vs Vermont
Vermont is a US state; the name shares some letters but has no connection to the color.
vermilion vs vermillion
Vermillion is a variant spelling of vermilion and is understood, though the shorter form is standard.
Practice
Which color is closest to vermilion?
Choose one answer.
Vermilion is a brilliant orange-red. The other colors are not near it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vermilion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.