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Glite Dictionary
🌿 A dye plant 💙 A blue dye
anil

anil

9.9
A blue dye that people make from indigo plants or in factories
  • noun
  • /ˈænɪl/
translation icon : anil
  • The artist used an anil dye to create stunning blue patterns on the fabric.

Examples

  • The fabric was dyed with anil to achieve a deep blue color.

  • Historically, anil was extracted from leaves of the indigo plant.

  • Many artists prefer natural anil over its synthetic counterpart for its unique hue.

  • The fabric was dyed with anil to achieve a rich, blue color.

  • Many artists prefer to use anil for its vibrant hue.

  • She mixed the anil with water to prepare the dye for her textile project.

  • After applying the anil, the cloth turned a deep shade of blue, reminiscent of the ocean.

Synonyms

indigo
vsanil
7 4.7

A deep blue dye used to color cloth, often made from plants or in factories

is the broader traditional dye term that also covers the synthetic forms
indigotin
vsanil
  • Specialized
9.9

A blue dye from indigo plants or made in factories to color cloth

is a general dye name rather than the technical compound term

Compounds

Indigofera anil
  • Specialized
9.9

A shrub from the West Indies and South America that people grow for indigo dye

Surface Forms

anil singular
anils plural

Etymology

Anil comes to English from Spanish and Portuguese, which took the word from Arabic al-nīl, and that comes from the Sanskrit nīla meaning 'dark blue'. So, like the familiar word indigo, anil is the name for the blue dye made from certain plants or made in factories.