Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Lacking color.
- adjective Pale; pallid.
- adjective Lacking animation, variety, or distinction; dull. synonym: dull.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Destitute of color; not distinguished by any hue; transparent, blanched, or entirely white: as, colorless water, glass, or gas; colorless cheeks or hair.
- In botany: Having no other color than green.
- Pale or hyaline. Jackson, Glossary.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Without color; not distinguished by any hue; transparent; ; a
colorless gas. - adjective Free from any manifestation of partial or peculiar sentiment or feeling; not disclosing likes, dislikes, prejudice, etc..
- adjective having lost its normal color.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Alternative spelling of
colourless .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective lacking in variety and interest
- adjective weak in color; not colorful
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We know Adam Smith as we know the ancients, in colorless stone.
A Wealth Of Ideas Jeffrey Collins 2010
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Color or colorless, that is the question by Steve Windisch (jibbguy) on Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 at 2: 51: 56 PM
Opinion: Distinguishing the Difference Between a News Story and an Editorial 2008
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You know, natural gas is odorless and colorless, which is why they add this mercaptan.
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The basic prana-aura is practically colorless, that is to say, it is about the color of the clearest water or a very clear diamond.
The Human Aura Astral Colors and Thought Forms Swami Panchadasi
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Its color, at H grade, or near colorless, ranks below the top rating of so-called colorless diamonds.
unknown title 2011
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After a months-long deadlock and half a dozen inconclusive votes, the world's atomic energy watchdog on Thursday elected as its leader a Japanese diplomat described as colorless by foes and competent by allies.
War in Context 2009
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Chloroform is defined as a colorless, heavy toxic liquid with an ether odor that is used as a solvent or veterinary anesthetic.
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Calif., in 1958, felt alienated from his suburban environment, which he's described as colorless and conformist.
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Although Simpson talked about being "colorless," he was actually quite conscious of playing the race card.
Day & Night 2008
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Since the supplemental money for the war was what is called "colorless", i.e. could be allocated for whatever was needed, there are concerns that the contractor bills took precedence over other traditional Army needs such as body armor, night vision goggles, and other critical combat equipment.
chained_bear commented on the word colorless
"Significantly, the English word colorless, which had until then only been a synonym for pale, took on a new and less flattering meaning during this period: it became a derogatory adjective describing a person or object 'without distinctive character, vividness, or picturesqueness.'"
Amy Butler Greenfield, A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire (New York: Harper Collins, 2005), 249.
(Time period is the 1850s-1860s.)
See also snazzy, colored, and Carmen.
October 6, 2017