colour
gb/kˈʌlɚ/ us/kˈʌlɚ/
A1
Anglais
~ 700
Sens
0 sens
Nom
A1
property
1
Appearance created by reflected light
How something looks because of the light it reflects, like red, blue, or green.
Schéma d’usage :
the colour of [something]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'colour' with 'shade' or 'pattern'. 'Colour' refers to the general visual property, while 'shade' is a variation of a particular colour.
Synonymes
hue (More technical or artistic term for a specific shade or tint.)
Antonymes
colorlessness (The absence of any hue or visual property from reflected light.)
Collocations
bright colour
|favourite colour
|change colour
|colour scheme
|colour palette
Thèmes
art
|science
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The walls were painted a soft blue colour.
- Autumn leaves change colour from green to red and yellow.
- She wore a dress the same colour as the ocean.
- The artist mixed several paints to get the right colour.
- This gemstone has a unique colour that shifts in the light.
Exemples pédagogiques
- My favourite colour is green.
- The sky is blue in the morning.
- Her shirt is red.
- This flower has a yellow colour.
Nom
A2
entity
2
Substance for producing a hue
A substance like paint or dye that makes things a certain colour.
Schéma d’usage :
[something] in [a colour]
Synonymes
pigment (More technical term often used in art and science for the substance that gives colour.)
Collocations
watercolour paint
|fabric colour
|hair colour
|food colouring
Thèmes
art
|crafts
|arts_entertainment
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- He bought some red colour to paint the fence.
- The printer is out of yellow colour.
- This fabric has been treated with natural colours.
- The chef added food colouring to the icing.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I need blue colour for my picture.
- She used red colour to paint the car.
- We put green colour on the wall.
Verbe
A2
action
3
To add hue to something
To put paint, dye, or another substance on something to change its colour.
Schéma d’usage :
to colour [something] [adjective/noun]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may confuse 'colour' (verb) with 'paint' — 'paint' often means covering a surface fully, while 'colour' can also mean filling in parts of an image.
Synonymes
dye (Specifically refers to colouring fabrics or hair with a liquid substance.)
Antonymes
bleach (To remove or lighten the colour of something.)
Collocations
colour in
|colour hair
|colour picture
Thèmes
art
|daily life
|daily_life
|arts_entertainment
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- She coloured her hair dark brown.
- The children coloured in the pictures.
- He coloured the drawing with crayons.
- They coloured the eggs for Easter.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I will colour my hair black.
- The boy colours the picture.
- We colour the eggs for the party.
Nom
B1
property
4
Skin tone showing health or feelings
The look of someone's skin that shows their health or feelings.
Synonymes
complexion (Refers more generally to the natural color and texture of skin.)
Collocations
lose colour
|face full of colour
Thèmes
health
|emotions
|body
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- He lost all colour when he heard the bad news.
- Her cheeks were full of colour after the run.
- Illness had drained him of his usual healthy colour.
Exemples pédagogiques
- Her face has no colour.
- He gets more colour after running.
- She lost her colour when she was afraid.
Nom
B2
property
5
Distinctive quality or character
A special quality that makes something interesting or different.
Synonymes
flavour (Figurative sense meaning special quality; 'flavour' is often interchangeable in this context.)
Collocations
local colour
|political colour
Thèmes
culture
|communication
|core_vocabulary
|arts_entertainment
Exemples
- The writer's descriptions bring local colour to the story.
- His speech had a distinctly political colour.
- Travel adds cultural colour to one's life experiences.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The book has local colour about the city.
- Her words have political colour.
- The trip gives more colour to his life.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
colour
API
GB/kˈʌlɚ/
US/kˈʌlɚ/
Syllabes et accentuation
col - our (2 syllabes)
Stress on 1st syllable (col)
Formes du mot
Noun
- Base: colour
- Variant Spelling: color
- Plural: colour, colours
Verb
- Base: colour
- Variant Spelling: color
- 3rd Person Singular: colours
- Present Participle: colouring
- Past: coloured
Famille de mots
Core family
colourful
adjective A2
Related words
colourfully
adverb
Negative and opposite forms
colourless
adjective
Advanced or less common
discolour
verb
Points clés
- Spelling Variant: color Verb
- Spelling Variant: color Noun
Expressions
add colour to [something]
1/ˈæd kˈʌlɚ tə sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
Make more interesting or lively
To make something more interesting and exciting.
Exemples
- Her stories always add colour to our meetings.
- Music can add colour to any celebration.
off-colour
1/ˈɔf kˈʌlɚ/
idiom
informal
Feeling slightly sick or not well
Feeling a little sick or not in good health.
Exemples
- I'm feeling a bit off-colour today.
- He looked off-colour after eating too much.
show one's true colours
1/ʃˈoʊ wˈʌnz tɹˈu kˈʌlɚz/
idiom
Reveal real self or motives
To show what you are really like, especially your bad qualities.
Exemples
- He seemed nice at first, but later he showed his true colours.
- She finally showed her true colours when she refused to help.
with flying colours
1/wˈɪθ flˈaɪɪŋ kˈʌlɚz/
idiom
Achieve great success easily
To succeed at something very well and easily.
Exemples
- She passed the test with flying colours.
- They completed the project with flying colours.
in cold blood
1/ˈɪn kˈoʊld blˈʌd/
idiom
deliberately and without emotion (esp. killing)
To do something bad on purpose and without feeling sorry, especially killing someone.
Exemples
- The victim was murdered in cold blood.
- The crime was committed in cold blood.
- He shot them in cold blood.
- He killed them in cold blood after planning it for weeks.
- He killed the animal in cold blood.
in cold blood
2/ˈɪn kˈoʊld blˈʌd/
idiom
Deliberately and without mercy (often killing)
To do something on purpose without feeling sorry, usually something very bad like killing someone.
Exemples
- The crime was committed in cold blood.
- He murdered them in cold blood.