Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Azure; sky-blue.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Sky-colored; clear lightblue; blue. Also spelled cærulean.
- n. Blue; cerulean color.
- n. A blue-stocking.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Sky-colored; blue; azure.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a light shade of blue
- adj. of a deep somewhat purplish blue color similar to that of a clear October sky
Etymologies
- From Latin caeruleus ("blue"), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱēy(w)-, *ḱyē(w)- (“grey”). Cognate with Old English hār ("grey"). More at hoar. (Wiktionary)
- From Latin caeruleus, dark blue; akin to caelum, sky. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Although likely only a Duke grad would use the word "cerulean" in casual conversation, and although rumor has it that Nebiros was, in fact, a UNC fan, the correct answer is C.”
“In Paris nude statues are “draped in cerulean blue.””
“It was odd, but she had always liked the word cerulean so much.”
“This time he addresses, among much else, the spread of neocon ideology, the reconstruction of Iraq and environmental desecration (there's a subplot involving a campaign to save a songbird called the cerulean warbler).”
The Guardian: Jonathan Franzen picks up the torch for US literary tradition
“At the river, the Lady and Malcolm encounter the kind of cerulean blue sky that would have given John Constable palpitations.”
“cerulean" at least once a week in a sentence and know what it means.”
“I see the house with its wraparound porch, fresh white paint, cerulean blue shutters.”
“He wore a flowing black robe featuring an intricate web of dazzling embroidery in various shades of blue and white, which complemented his bright cerulean skin and the stark, pallid tint of long hair that fell below his shoulders.”
Simon & Schuster: Star Trek: Typhon Pact Paths of Disharmony
“To take the prize for best purple prose, Mike Pedersen of North Berwick, Maine, relied on a thesaurus'-worth of synonyms:"As his small boat scudded before a brisk breeze under a sapphire sky dappled with cerulean clouds with indigo bases, through cobalt seas that deepened to navy nearer the boat and faded to azure at the horizon, Ian was at a loss as to why he felt blue.”
USA Today: Wisconsin professor wins 2011 bad writing contest
“I've been to Storm King before but never on such a perfect autumn day without a cloud, under a sunny cerulean sky with brushstrokes of red, yellow and crimson painted on the surrounding trees and in the distant Schunnemunk Mountains.”
The Huffington Post: Margie Goldsmith: Driving To Storm King Art Center In A W-12 Bentley
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘cerulean’.
-
my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
-
phrontistery - c
from phrontistery.info
caballine, cabas, cable, caboched, cabochon, caboose, cabotage, cabré, cabrie, cabriole, cabriolet, cacaesthesia and 1298 more...
-
January 2012
bloviate, pastiche, apparat, facile, paroxysm, pique, bedfellow, pedigree, tutelage, protege, protégé, retroactive and 196 more...
-
#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
-
not your normal colors
Instead of "blue," "red," or "green," we say "azure," "scarlet," and "emerald."
azure, garnet, celadon, bone, vermilion, indigo, maize, puce, tangerine, beryl, cerulean
-
The 123 List
words listed more than 123 times
ethereal, ephemeral, persnickety, akimbo, zeitgeist, chiaroscuro, sesquipedalian, wanderlust, schadenfreude, alacrity, anathema, laconic and 14 more...
-
blue
bluejeans, blue sky, blue angel, blue heaven, blue jay, blue cheese, blue ridge, blue ribbon, blue print, blue rinse, bluestocking, blue shift and 50 more...
-
Colors/Patterns/Prints/Textures
fritillary, chartreuse, tortoise-shell, brindle, burnt orange, cerulean, amaranth, sandy, amber, mold, fungus, kiwi and 65 more...
-
colors
This list aims to contain words whose primary definition describes the color itself, unlike gold, silver, rust, turquoise, etc. Of course red can mean communist, blue can mean sad, yellow can mean ...
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple, pink, grey, gray, white, black and 25 more...
-
Words descriptive of the colour of th...
sloe, hyaline, dull, turquoise, slate, snotgreen, ultramarine, glaucous, murky, ashen, wine-dark, claret and 32 more...
-
lavender ribbons of rain sang
thistledown, tendril, unborn baubles, coronule, perianth, virago, wisteria, nepenthe, nymph, freshwater, lucid, flame and 14 more...
-
♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
-
Words For Novel
viridity, effigy, paragon, congested, acrid, lilting, clandestine, plethora, accolade, sardonic, naïve, reckoning and 285 more...
-
ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 509 more...
-
Great Sounding Words
Words that sound great!
-
color wheel
Tweets
Looking for tweets for cerulean.
widdershins Ooh, "apricot wash," I like that! Dec 22, 2007
reesetee If you know someone who paints in oils, this is a nicely evocative word, though. Goes well with alizarin crimson. :-) Nov 30, 2007
yarb As a colour word, this is only used by hopeless versifiers, but to me it means a certain kind of summery, seashore sky, flecked with cumulus, a clutter of gulls, and the apricot wash of a half-risen sun. Nov 30, 2007
vanishedone 'Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
Whilst our laughter echoed
Under cerulean skies...' (Chrono Cross intro.) Nov 29, 2007
lilacs524 Definitely a tough one to pronounce. Definitely a great color. Feb 23, 2007
valse Suh-roo-lee-uhn. Beautiful word, likewise with the color it describes. Jan 15, 2007
h3h I've never been comfortable pronouncing this word. I try to avoid it. Jan 14, 2007