WordWeb Online

1. A flag that shows its nationality
   - colors [US]
    
2. A distinguishing emblem
   "his tie proclaimed his school colours";
   - colors [US]

1. A visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit, transmit or reflect
   "a white colour is made up of many different wavelengths of light";
   - color [US], coloring [US], colouring [Brit, Cdn]
    
2. Interest and variety and intensity
   "the Puritan Period was lacking in colour";
   - color [US], vividness
    
3. The timbre of a musical sound
   "the recording fails to capture the true colour of the original music";
   - color [US], coloration, colouration [Brit, Cdn]
    
4. An outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading
   "the situation soon took on a different colour"; "he hoped his claims would have a colour of authenticity";
   - semblance, gloss, color [US]
    
5. Any material used for its colour
   "she used a different colour for the trim";
   - coloring material [US], colouring material [Brit, Cdn], color [US]
    
6. (physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction
   "each flavour of quarks comes in three colours";
   - color [US]
    
7. The appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person's perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation
   - color [US]

1. Add colour to
   "The child coloured the drawings"; "Fall coloured the trees"; "The child coloured in the drawings";
   - color [US], colorize [US], colorise [Brit], colourise [Brit], colourize [Brit, Cdn], color in [US], colour in [Brit, Cdn]
    
2. Affect as in thought or feeling
   "My personal feelings colour my judgment in this case"; "The sadness coloured his life";
   - tinge, color [US], distort
    
3. Modify or bias
   "His political ideas colour his lectures";
   - color [US]
    
4. Decorate with colours
   "colour the walls with paint in warm tones";
   - color [US], emblazon
    
5. Give a deceptive explanation or excuse for
   "colour a lie";
   - color [US], gloss
    
6. Change colour, often in an undesired manner
   "The shirts coloured";
   - discolor [US], discolour [Brit, Cdn], color [US]

See also: colored [US], colorful [US], colorless [US], coloured [Brit, Cdn], colourful [Brit, Cdn], colourless [Brit, Cdn], uncolored [US], uncoloured [Brit, Cdn]

Type of: act upon, adorn, affect, alter, apologise [Brit], apologize, appearance, bear on, bear upon, beautify, change, decorate, embellish, emblem, excuse, flag, form, grace, impact, influence, interest, interestingness, kind, material, modify, ornament, quality, rationalise [Brit], rationalize, sort, stuff, timber [non-standard], timbre, tone, touch, touch on, variety, visual aspect, visual property, work

Encyclopedia: Colours, standards and guidons