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to color

to color

40 6.5
To change someone's opinion or how a story appears, often unfairly
  • verb
  • /ˈkʌlər/
  • US
: colorear
  • Well, that has obviously colored your attitude a bit.
  • perceptions were colored
  • colored by wishful thinking
  • be colored by experience

that invade your mind and colour your view of reality.

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Examples

  • What I privately think mustn't color the mood of this fine safari.

  • Rarely, if ever, is the teacher supposed to color the opinions of his pupils.

    Academic text (1995)
  • When these people reach out again and we know what they want, Jane will help color who they are.

  • Basically, new information has come in that colors our perception.

  • My racial presentation colors how other people deal with me.

  • We have intervening memories, and each new memory colors our perceptions of our old memories.

  • Hemingway's Cuba was colored by a small-town atmosphere, far from the noise of Havana.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The news report was biased, which colors the public's understanding of the event.

  • Her personal experiences will inevitably color her perspective on the situation.

  • The introduction of misleading data can color the research findings significantly.

Synonyms

to distort
vsto color
77 4.6

To change facts so they become false or misleading

can influence opinions without actually making their meaning false
to tinge
vsto color
19 4.8

To add a small amount of color or feeling to something

can strongly affect opinions or alter the truth rather than only slightly

Antonyms

255 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

Idioms

To think or act in a new and creative way without following usual rules

A different matter from what was discussed

Phrasal Verbs

7 1.4

To fill parts of a picture with crayons or paint

1 9.1

To put small spots of color over a surface like a shirt or wall

Compounds

75 3.6

People who are not white, for example Black, Asian, or Indigenous

51 1.7

The natural tone of a person's skin that usually comes from their parents

21 3.4

A planned set of colors used to make a room or item look good

20 3.6

A system that uses different colors to show groups or information

14 1.0

How light or dark the part of the eye around the pupil looks

13 3.7

Unable to see the difference between some colors, often red and green

10 1.0

A television that shows pictures in color

off-color
  • Offensive
10 7.7

Slightly rude or indecent in a way meant to be funny

8 5.6

A policy or attitude that does not consider people's race, often hiding unequal treatment

color line
  • Formal
7 7.9

A barrier that keeps Black people from taking part equally with white people

7 2.2

A basic color like red, blue, or yellow that you mix to make other colors

6 3.5

Having parts of different bright colors

6 4.0

Unable to tell some colors apart, often red and green

6 4.0

Not treating people differently because of their race when choosing people for jobs or schools

6 5.0

A group of people who carry a national or military flag during ceremonies

4 3.0

A single, even color with no pattern or shade change

color barrier
  • Offensive
4 5.9

A rule or practice that keeps Black people and other races from taking part equally with white people

4 1.0

A television that shows pictures in color rather than black and white

color spectrum
  • Specialized
4 4.0

A range of visible colors from red to violet when light passes through a prism

A small area of bright color added to make something look more lively

3 2.4

A chart showing many colors to help you choose one

color of law
  • Formal
2 8.9

Acting as if you have legal power when you do not, often to do illegal acts

2 2.5

To see and tell different colors with your eyes

2 3.2

A round chart that shows how colors are related and which colors match well

2 2.3

A reddish-brown color like shiny metal used for coins and wires

complementary color
  • Specialized
2 4.0

Two colors that make white light or grey when mixed, like red and green

1 3.7

Not able to tell some colors, often red and green

1 6.1

The idea that race should not matter when treating people, often hiding real unfairness

food color
  • Specialized
1 2.3

A thing added to food or drink to change how it looks

1 3.9

A natural color made from soil, usually brown, yellow or red, used in art

1 3.4

A paint made by mixing color with oil that artists use

1 3.7

A process in which something becomes a different color

color bar
  • Offensive
1 7.9

A system that keeps people of different races apart and often denies rights to Black people

A person who cannot tell some colors apart

off-color humor
  • Offensive
1 9.0

Jokes that are rude or offensive

1 3.9

A circle that shows how colors are related, for example primary and opposite colors

A color like blue or green that helps you feel calm

spectral color
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A color seen in a rainbow that comes from one light wave, not a mix of colors

1 3.5

A natural soft color like brown or green that looks like soil

1 8.3

A soldier who carries the unit's flag in battle or ceremonies

color wash
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A thin see-through layer of water-based paint that gives a surface a soft blended color

color force
  • Specialized
1 8.8

A force that holds protons and neutrons together inside atomic nuclei

1 8.1

A soldier who carries a unit's flag during ceremonies

A color with hue such as red, not grey or black

color wash
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A uniform tint added across an image to change its mood

snuff-color
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A dark yellow-brown color like powdered tobacco

A color with no hue, like white, grey, or black

color tube
  • Archaic
1 7.2

Part of a television that shows pictures in color

color constancy
  • Specialized
1 7.0

The color of an object stays the same under different lights

1 5.0

A problem where a person cannot tell some colors apart, often red and green

A small circular area of color on the skin around a bite or wound

color TV tube
  • Archaic
1 3.5

A glass bulb inside older televisions that makes the screen show color pictures

1 3.6

Paint made with water and glue that makes bright colors for posters

basic color
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A dye with a positive charge that sticks to acid parts and stains cells and fabrics

1 4.1

A large glass part inside old televisions that shows pictures in color

Difficulty telling red and green colors apart

bhagwa color
  • Indian
9.9

A deep orange color used in South Asia to show bravery and sacrifice

bhagwa color
  • Indian
9.9

An orange color used by some Hindu political groups on flags and posters to show support

3.2

A system for sending and showing TV pictures in color

dithered color
  • Specialized
8.2

A pattern of tiny colored dots that makes a new color appear on a screen

A bright, imaginative show of many strong colors

An early television that shows red, green and blue in a quick order to make color images

A TV method that sends each picture in red, then green, then blue

An early color television that shows pictures by quickly changing red, green, and blue images

An old way of showing color television by showing red, green, and blue pictures quickly

nonsolid color
  • Specialized
7.5

A pattern of small dots printed so it looks like one color

3.5

One of three main colors of light, like red, green or blue

One of three colors, magenta, cyan and yellow, used in printing to make many colors by removing light

A person who is not white, often used when talking about race

A bright mix of clashing pastel and neon colors

vat color
  • Specialized
9.1

A dye for cotton that is dissolved to put on cloth and then made to stay

6.0

A condition that makes it hard to tell yellow and blue apart

How Biased

to falsify
  • Formal
45 7.3
to distort
77 4.6
to color
  • US
40 6.5
to bias
8 4.9
to slant
6 6.3

Surface Forms

color infinitive
colour infinitive
colored past
coloured past
colored past participle
coloured past participle
coloring present participle
colouring present participle
colors third person singular
colours third person singular

Etymology

Color meaning to influence or distort comes from using 'color' as a 'shade' or slant that changes how we see a fact or story. So to color the truth is to change its appearance and make it seem different.