colored
having one or more colors
Having color; not just black, white, and gray.
colored [noun]
- She bought a pack of colored pencils for her art class.
- The festival was full of brightly colored banners and flags.
- I prefer colored photos to black-and-white ones when I’m making an album.
- They hung colored lights around the patio for the party.
- The children were given colored paper to make decorations.
- He drew a house with colored pens.
- The movie is in colored film, not black-and-white.
- We used colored balloons for the birthday.
- I like to write my notes with colored markers.
- The shop sells many colored shirts.
influenced, not neutral or objective
Not neutral; showing someone’s feelings or ideas instead of only facts.
a colored [opinion/view/account/comment]
- Her memories of that time are colored by the stories her parents told her.
- The article gives a clearly colored view of the situation, favoring one political side.
- His report was emotionally colored and did not present the data in a neutral way.
- Because of their past conflict, his judgment of her work is heavily colored.
- The documentary is subtly colored by the filmmaker’s personal experiences.
- His opinion of the company is colored by his bad experience there.
- The story in that movie is colored by the writer’s own life.
- Her view of the city is colored because she only stayed in a rich area.
- My first visit was bad, so my idea of the country is colored.
- The news report is colored by the TV channel’s politics.
added color to something
Past tense of 'color': put color on or into something.
[someone] colored [something]
- She colored the flowers in with bright red and yellow crayons.
- He colored his hair blue for the concert.
- The children proudly showed the pictures they had colored in class.
- The designer colored the logo in several different shades to test the look.
- We colored the eggs together before the holiday.
- The girl colored the picture with crayons.
- He colored his hair black last week.
- The students colored many small flags.
- My little brother colored on the wall.
- They colored the map to show each country.
influenced or distorted by feelings
Made an opinion, story, or feeling less neutral because of personal emotions or ideas.
[something] colored [someone]'s [judgment/opinion/memories]
- Her early success colored her expectations for the rest of her career.
- The bitter argument colored his judgment of his colleague’s later work.
- Growing up in poverty colored his view of money and risk.
- The way the story was told colored our understanding of what actually happened.
- His fear of failure colored every decision he made about his future.
- His bad childhood colored his ideas about family.
- The fight colored how she saw her friend.
- Her first bad job colored her opinion of big companies.
- That sad movie colored my mood for the whole day.
- The teacher’s words colored how the students thought about the book.
offensive term for Black people
An old word for a Black person or other non‑white person. It is now offensive and should not be used.
a colored [man/woman/person/neighborhood]
- The novel, written in the 1940s, repeatedly refers to the town’s colored residents, reflecting the language of that time.
- In many countries today, calling someone a colored person is seen as rude and offensive.
- The museum exhibition explains how the term 'colored' was used on signs that separated public spaces by race.
- Older legal documents in the region still use categories such as 'white', 'colored', and 'native'.
- Teachers now explicitly tell students not to use the word 'colored' for people because it is hurtful and outdated.
- You should not call a person 'colored' today; it is offensive.
- In old books, you may see the phrase 'colored people'.
- The teacher said the word 'colored' for people is not okay now.
- Some old signs used the word 'colored' to separate people.
- Modern English uses other words; 'colored' for people sounds racist.
offensive noun for a Black person
An old word for a Black person (or sometimes any non‑white person). It is now offensive and should not be used.
a colored; the colored
- The sign above the door read 'Coloreds', a painful reminder of the segregation era.
- In the memoir, she recalls being told that only coloreds could sit at the back of the bus.
- Modern style guides strongly warn against using 'colored' as a noun for a person.
- The film includes dialogue where white characters insultingly call their neighbors 'coloreds'.
- A note at the front of the book explains that the word 'colored' was common then but is now considered offensive.
- Today, it is wrong to call someone 'a colored'.
- Old movies sometimes show signs saying 'for coloreds only'.
- Writers now avoid the word 'colored' for people.
- The word 'colored' as a noun sounds racist in modern English.
- You may read 'coloreds' in history books, but you should not say it now.
- Base: colored
- Base: colored
- Plural: coloreds
a colored view of something
3a biased or influenced view
An opinion about something that is not neutral because it is influenced by someone’s feelings or situation.
- Growing up in a very rich area gave him a colored view of poverty.
- Because she only read one author, she has a colored view of that period in history.
- Media from only one country can give you a colored view of world events.
a rose-colored view
2too positive opinion of something
An opinion that is too positive and does not include the bad or difficult parts of something.
- The article gives a rose-colored view of life in big cities.
- Tourists often have a rose-colored view of the country after only a short visit.
- Because she has never worked there, she has a rather rose-colored view of that company.
through rose-colored glasses
1see only the good parts
To look at a person or situation and notice mainly the good things, not the problems or bad parts.
- When he talks about his childhood, he sees it through rose-colored glasses and forgets how hard it really was.
- Investors who look at the market through rose-colored glasses may ignore serious risks.
- She views her relationship through rose-colored glasses and doesn’t see the warning signs.